Several news crews and independent photographers went to the house, which lies west of Gaza City in the Shati refugee camp, around 4 p.m. local time to cover the fallout from Haniyeh’s death, said local freelance photographer Ayman al-Hissi. Ghoul and Rifi were among that group, reporting for Al Jazeera.
Seconds before 4 p.m., Hissi said the Al Jazeera crew had prepared their last report, in which they interviewed Haniyeh’s daughter-in-law, Enas Haniyeh. Meanwhile, an “intensive flight of reconnaissance aircraft” arrived, Hissi said, and fired a missile at the western part of the Haniyeh house. The strike caused no injuries, according to Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal, and Ghoul and Rifi left the scene to drive away as quickly as possible.
One of the reconnaissance planes chased the Al Jazeera employees’ car, and Hissi watched as another missile hit the Aida area near Haniyeh’s house. The second strike came around 5 p.m. and hit their car directly, Bassal said, killing Ghoul and Rifi.
A boy passing by was also killed, and his body was evacuated by ambulance, Bassal said.
Al Jazeera Arabic managing editor Mohamed Moawad mourned the loss of Ghoul, calling him a “determined journalist who refused to succumb to hunger, illness and the loss of his brother.”
“He relentlessly covered the events and delivered the reality of Gaza to the world through Al Jazeera. His voice has now been silenced,” Moawad wrote in a social media post. “Ismail fulfilled his mission to his people and his homeland. Shame on those who have failed the civilians, journalists, and humanity.”
Hissi, who was 300 meters away from the car, accused Israel of striking and killing the reporters despite “knowing that they were all wearing vests with the press symbol on them, knowing that all those present in the place were civilians and journalists.”
In a statement to The Washington Post, Al Jazeera said it “condemns the ongoing crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces against journalists and media professionals in Gaza in the strongest possible terms.”
“We urge international legal institutions to hold Israel accountable for its heinous crimes and to demand an end to the targeting and killing of journalists,” the network added.
In March, Ghoul was detained and beaten during an Israeli raid on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported at the time. Ghoul said he and other detained journalists were forced to strip naked and lie on their stomachs for hours.
As of February, more than 85 journalists had been killed in the first four months of the war in Gaza. The war has killed more than 110 journalists and media workers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted,” said chief executive Jodie Ginsberg, according to the CPJ. “Israel must explain why two more Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in what appears to be a direct strike.”
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strike and the targets.
Hazem Balousha, Heba Mahfouz, Missy Ryan, Hajar Harb and Miriam Berger contributed to this report.
