Israeli correspondent Zvi Yehezkeli backs killing of Palestinian journalists

Israeli journalist Zvi Yehezkeli has praised Israel's killing of Palestinian journalists in a "double-tap" attack on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

The Arab affairs correspondent for i24 News was speaking during a broadcast on Monday, which was later shared by the channel on the social media platform X.

"These are Nukhba men in every way," Yehezkeli said, referring to the slain journalists as members of an elite Hamas military unit.

Yehezkeli, a settler living in the occupied West Bank, said that the journalists had helped to damage Israel's reputation by sharing images of starvation the state has imposed on Palestinians in the besieged territory.

"They continued the legacy of Yahya Sinwar by so-called journalism," he added, in reference to Hamas' slain leader.

"Just think about how much damage these journalists...you call them Nukhba journalists, how much damage they have done to Israel.

"If Israel decides to eliminate the journalists, then it's better late than never."

Hundreds of journalists killed covering genocide

The Israeli military killed Middle East Eye journalists Mohamed Salama and Ahmed Abu Aziz in the double-tap strike on Monday.

Israeli forces bombed the fourth floor of Nasser Hospital at around 11am local time (09:00 BST), then moments later fired a second missile deliberately at reporters, bystanders and first responders who had gathered to help recover the dead and wounded.

“The Israeli army has complete knowledge of who is there and when, yet they still decided to strike.”

Channel 4 News reported on the two Israeli attacks on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, which killed 20 people, including five journalists, two of whom worked for the Middle East Eye pic.twitter.com/XZOiXxJebr

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 26, 2025

At least three other journalists were among the 20 Palestinians killed in the attack, including Mariam Dagga, a freelance reporter who worked with several media outlets including the Associated Press; Hussam al-Masri, a photojournalist with the Reuters news agency; and freelance reporter Moaz Abu Taha.

Israel's English language communications have claimed the killings were a "mistake" but the state's Channel 14 news channel has reported that the attack was approved by and coordinated with senior military commanders.

At least 245 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.