Gaza war deadliest conflict for journalists: Observers

Israel refutes claim by advocacy group that it directly targeted 32 media workers

BEIRUT - Palestinian journalist Islam al-Zaanoun was so determined to cover the war in Gaza that she went back to work two months after giving birth. But, like all journalists in Gaza, she was not just covering the story she was living it.

The 34-year-old, who works for Palestine TV, gave birth to a girl in Gaza City a few weeks after the start of the Israeli offensive in October 2023.

She had to have a caesarean section as Israeli air strikes pounded the strip. Her doctors performed the operation in the dark with only the lights on their cellphones to guide them.

The next day, she went home but the day after that, she had to flee the fighting, driving further south with her three children. Nine days after giving birth, she was forced to abandon her car and continue on foot.

"I had to walk 8km to get to the south with my children," she said.

"There were bodies and corpses everywhere, horrifying sight. I felt my heart was going to stop from the fear." Just 60 days later, she got back in front of the camera to report on the war, joining the ranks of Palestinian journalists who have provided the world's only window on the conflict in the absence of international media, who have not been granted free access by Israeli authorities.

"Correspondents have reporting in their blood. They don't learn it, so they cannot be far from the coverage (for) too long," Ms al-Zaanoun said.

As at Oct 4, at least 127 journalists and media workers had been killed since the conflict began, according to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

This has made the past year the deadliest period on record for journalists since the press watchdog started keeping records in 1992.