Al Jazeera Says Reporter Arrested in Gaza

washington - An Al Jazeera journalist on Monday was beaten and taken away by Israeli forces while he reported on a hospital raid in Gaza, the network said.

Al Jazeera reported that members of the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, assaulted their Arabic language correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, destroying his equipment and arresting him along with other media and hospital workers.

Al-Ghoul was forced to strip naked before being led away by the soldiers, Al Jazeera says. As of late Monday, the Qatari outlet has been unable to contact him.

Al Jazeera and international media watchdogs called for the immediate release of Al-Ghoul and other jailed reporters.

"Al Jazeera condemns the ongoing crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against journalists and media professionals in Gaza and renews its call for an immediate halt to these horrific attacks," the outlet said in a statement.

The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately reply to VOA's email requesting comment.

The arrest highlights the risks for reporters working in Gaza. Journalists confront restrictions on access from both sides, and the death toll for media is the highest for any conflict.

Israel was a leading jailer of journalists as of late 2023, says the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. The country ranked sixth globally, with 17 in jail, on CPJ's annual census of reporters imprisoned for their work.

Israel Ranks Among World's Worst Jailers of Journalists, Report Finds

The group said that all those detained were arrested in the West Bank since Hamas launched its October 7 terror attack on Israel.

As of Monday, 95 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began, including 90 Palestinians, three Lebanese and two Israelis, according to CPJ.

Among those is Issam Abdallah, a Lebanese video journalist for Reuters. Abdallah was killed in a strike and six other journalists were injured as they reported from southern Lebanon near the Israeli border on October 13.

Lebanese journalists hold portraits of Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli shelling, during a protest in front of the United Nations headquarters in Beirut, Oct. 15, 2023.

Findings by a United Nations investigation into the incident determined that an Israeli tank fired two 120mm rounds at a group of "clearly identifiable journalists" in violation of international law, Reuters reported.

The investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said it did not record any exchange of fire across the Israeli-Lebanese border for more than 40 minutes before the tank fired on the journalists.

"The reason for the strikes on the journalists is not known," a summary of the report said.

IDF spokesperson Nir Dinar told Reuters that Israeli forces would continue to look into the incident.

"The IDF deplores any injury to uninvolved parties, and does not deliberately shoot at civilians, including journalists," Dinar said. "The IDF considers the freedom of the press to be of utmost importance while clarifying that being in a war zone is dangerous."

Media watchdogs say that even before the latest conflict, the IDF has a history of targeting journalists.

A May 2023 report by CPJ found that Israeli soldiers responsible for the deaths of 20 journalists - including 18 Palestinians - over the past 22 years. Despite investigations by Israel, no one has been held accountable, the report found.

But despite the risks, and with many journalists in Gaza displaced by the fighting, reporters are still covering the situation there.

Since the war began, the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, has provided journalists in Gaza with places to work and equipment.

Working with the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, or ARIJ, RSF has helped 90 journalists in Gaza, including by establishing three tents for media to work in. They also provided items such as laptops and phones.

"To address the shocking conditions in which journalists in Gaza are living and working, RSF and its partner ARIJ are providing support in the field to these reporters, so that they can continue to provide the world with reliable and independent reporting from the besieged enclave," RSF editorial director Anne Bocande said in a statement.

"We demand their immediate protection," Bocande added.