Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored ceasefire in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent violations.
In a statement, the civil defence said “the bodies of the three journalists killed in an Israeli air strike in the Al-Zahra area southwest of Gaza City were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah”.
It named the dead as Mohammed Salah Qashta, Abdul Raouf Shaat and Anas Ghneim.
Shaat had contributed regularly to AFP as a photo and video journalist, but at the time of the strike he was not on assignment for the agency.
In a statement, the Israeli military said troops had “identified several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas in the central Gaza Strip”.
The military did not elaborate on what it meant by a “drone affiliated with Hamas”.
“Due to the threat that the drone posed to the troops, the (Israeli military) precisely struck the suspects who activated the drone,” it said, adding that the details were under review.
The civil defence, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, said in an earlier statement that an Israeli drone strike had targeted “a civilian vehicle” near Al-Zahra.
According to an eyewitness, the journalists were using a drone to take images of aid distribution by the Egyptian Relief Committee in the Gaza Strip when a strike targeted a vehicle accompanying them.
The Egyptian aid group confirmed one of its vehicles was targeted by Israel in a strike that killed three people.
“A vehicle belonging to the Egyptian Committee was targeted during a humanitarian mission, resulting in the martyrdom of three individuals,” said Mohammed Mansour, a spokesman for the Egyptian Relief Committee in the Gaza Strip, adding that all vehicles belonging to the group “bear the committee’s logo”.
“The Israeli army criminally targeted this vehicle” when the individuals were filming the Netzarim camp, Mansour said.
AFP footage showed the vehicle charred, with mangled remains lying in an open area.
Hamas called the strike “a dangerous escalation of the flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate condemned the strike as part of a “systematic and deliberate policy pursued by the Israeli occupation to intentionally target Palestinian journalists”.
Israeli forces have killed at least 466 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.