Senior Terrorist in Gaza Disguises Himself as Journalist

When terrorists disguise themselves as civilians, it often ends badly for civilians. Today, a senior Islamic Jihad operative was targeted while driving a press vehicle, effectively disguising himself as a reporter. By doing so, he risked the lives of all journalists in the Gaza Strip.

20.11.21
IDF Editorial Team

Over the past several days, the IDF has carefully pinpointed and targeted sites used by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. Terrorists complicate the task by systematically using civilian facilities and locations as a cover for their operations.

The “human shield” method has forced the IDF to target seemingly non-military targets, resulting in some of the civilian casualties. It has also endangered all residents of the Gaza Strip who were unwittingly dragged into the conflict.

Today's incident exemplified this as the senior Islamic Jihad operative was targeted while driving a press vehicle. Muhammed Shamalah, commander of Islamic Jihad’s forces in the southern Gaza Strip and head of Islamic Jihad’s militant training programs, was targeted by an Israeli air strike. The strike occurred while he was driving a car clearly labelled “TV”, indicating it to be a press vehicle and abusing the protection afforded to journalists.

The incident occurred on the same day that four senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives took over a floor of the foreign press building in Gaza and used it as a meeting place, risking the lives of all journalists inside. The IDF targeted the operatives and a direct hit was confirmed. Journalists have been warned to stay away from terrorists or terror sites in Gaza for their own safety.