IDF kills lensman, 7 others in Gaza

Ahmed Wishah killed as Israel alleges Hamas links; his brother, also an Al Jazeera journalist, died in April; 2 Hamas ‘moneymen’ also killed

Gaza City: Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least eight people, including Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Wishah and at least one child, according to health officials and rescuers. Wishah was killed in a strike on a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday. Two other people were also killed in the attack, according to a hospital and Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency.

Al Jazeera condemned the killing, calling it a violation of international laws and norms. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) alleged that Wishah was a member of Hamas' military wing and had served as a sniper operative. The IDF also claimed he had recently advanced plans for sniper attacks against Israeli troops but did not provide evidence.

Wishah's brother Mohamed, also an Al Jazeera correspondent, was killed in an Israeli strike in April. The IDF had similarly alleged Hamas links.

In a separate strike in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood, four members of a family were killed overnight, according to civil defence officials, relatives and hospital sources. Medical officials said the dead included women and children.

two FINANCIAL OPERATIVES KILLED

Two Hamas financial operatives accused of transferring more than NIS 500 million ($169 million) to the group's military wing were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza, the IDF said. The military identified the men as Hussein Qadra and Moham­med Farra, alleging they operated a network that moved funds to support Hamas activities.

Strikes were also reported in northern and southern Gaza. Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire that came into effect in Oct.