The death of al-Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Samir Wishah comes less than two months after Israel killed his journalist brother in a „double blow.”.
Written by: Bilge Kotan, June 20, 2026.
An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed Palestinian journalist Ahmed Samir Wishah, a cameraman for al-Jazeera's Mubasher, on Saturday.
Al-Jazeera strongly condemned the „targeted killing” of the correspondent in a statement, calling it a heinous crime. „This represents yet another flagrant violation of international law and norms and reflects an ongoing, systematic policy of targeted killing of journalists and silencing the voice of truth,” the network said in a statement.
The Israeli military admitted carrying out the airstrike that killed the journalist, calling him a „Hamas terrorist” without providing evidence. The journalist’s death comes after a total of ten Palestinians were killed in the area on Saturday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called Wishah’s killing „alarming,” saying the case „underlines the devastating toll this war continues to exact on journalists.” The organization said it was investigating the circumstances of the incident and demanded a thorough, transparent investigation by Israeli authorities.
Wishah's brother, Mohammed Samir, was killed on April 8 when an Israeli "double-tap strike" hit his car while he was filming. He was also a contributor to al-Jazeera Mubasher.
Wishah's colleagues said they had feared for his safety months ago after an Israeli incitement campaign targeted him for his reporting on the genocide over the past two years.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 260 Palestinian journalists have been killed since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023. Wishah is the 12th al-Jazeera staffer to be killed in the Gaza Strip during the same period.
