GAZA: A Palestinian journalist died on Saturday after being wounded by Israeli fire on Friday while covering deadly protests along the Israel-Gaza border, health officials said.
Yaser Murtaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was the 29th Palestinian killed in the weeklong protests.
Photos showed Murtaja lying wounded on a stretcher wearing a navy-blue protective vest marked ‘PRESS’ in large black capital letters. Health officials said a live bullet had penetrated the side of his abdomen and he succumbed to his wounds in hospital.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was looking into the incident and could not comment further at this stage.
The daily protests, dubbed “The Great March of Return,” began on March 30 along the Israel-Gaza frontier, reviving a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled, or were driven out, when the state of Israel was created.
Freelance photographer Ashraf Abu Amra told Reuters he was next to Murtaja, whom he said was wearing a helmet and protective vest. Abu Amra said they were both clearly marked as journalists.
“We were filming as youths torched tires. We were about 250 meters from the fence,” said Abu Amra. “Israeli forces opened fire and injuries began. Yaser and I ran to film when suddenly Yaser fell to the ground.
“I screamed to him ‘Yaser are you alright?’. He didn’t respond and there was blood on the ground underneath him. I knew it was a bad injury and people carried him away,” said Abu Amra.
Murtaja was married with a two-year-old son. Hundreds of mourners, among them many journalists, attended his funeral on Saturday.
His body was covered with a Palestinian flag and his press jacket laid beside him on the stretcher as it was carried through the streets of Gaza City to his home for a last farewell.
“I made him breakfast, he ate quickly, he was in a hurry to go to work,” said Murtaja’s mother, Yusra, recounting the morning of the protest.
“I thought he would recover from his injury, I didn’t expect his death, but God has chosen him as a martyr, thank God,” she said, sitting on the ground as mourners came to the house to pay their respects.
Israel Radio, citing an unnamed source in Gaza, said Murtaja had been operating a camera drone on Friday. Abu Amra and two other Palestinian journalists said Murtaja was not operating a camera drone when shot.
Murtaja, on his Facebook page, had posted two aerial photos taken at the border in the past week. It was unclear if he had taken them himself.
At least three other journalists were wounded on Friday in other locations, Gaza officials said. There have been no Israeli casualties in the protests.
Israel’s response to the protests has drawn international criticism, with human rights groups saying it involved live fire against demonstrators posing no immediate threat to life.
Israel says it is doing what it must to defend its border and its troops have been responding with riot dispersal means and fire “in accordance with the rules of engagement.”
The Israeli government has ruled out any right of return, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority.
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Journalist killed covering protests buried
Journalist killed covering protests buried
- Media watchdog accuses Israel of 'deliberate shooting' of journalists in Gaza.
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Iraq negotiates new coalition under US pressure
BAGHDAD: More than a month after Iraq’s parliamentary elections, the country’s top leaders remain locked in talks to form a government while facing pressure from Washington to exclude Tehran-backed armed groups.
Amid seismic changes in the Middle East, where new alliances are forming and old powers waning, Iraqi leaders face a daunting task: navigating relations with US-blacklisted pro-Iranian factions.
- What does the US want? -
The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.
But another spectre also haunts Iraq’s halls of power: Washington’s arch-foe, Iran.
Iraq has long been caught between the two, with successive governments negotiating a delicate balance.
Now, after November’s election, Washington has demanded the eventual government must exclude Iran-backed armed groups and instead move to dismantle them, Iraqi officials and diplomats told AFP.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Iraqi leaders well know what is and is not compatible with a strong US-Iraq partnership.”
Washington, the spokesperson said, “will continue to speak plainly to the urgency of dismantling Iran-backed militias.”
But some of these groups have increased their presence in the new chamber and have joined the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties with varying ties to Iran and which holds the majority.
For weeks, the Coordination Framework has been embroiled in talks to nominate the next prime minister.
“The US has put conditions that armed factions should not be part of the new government,” a senior Iraqi official said. The factions must disarm and “sever ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,” he added.
In recent tweets, the US special envoy to Iraq, Mark Savaya said that Iraqi leaders are at a “crossroads.”
Their decision “will send a clear and unmistakable signal to the United States... that Iraq is ready to claim its rightful place as a stable and respected nation in the new Middle East.
“The alternative is equally clear: economic deterioration, political confusion, and international isolation,” Savaya said.
- Which armed groups? -
The US has blacklisted as “terrorist organizations” several armed groups from within the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary alliance now integrated into the armed forces.
They are also part of the Iran-backed so-called “axis of resistance” and have called for the withdrawal of US troops — deployed in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition — and launched attacks against them.
Most of these groups hold seats in parliament and have seen their political and financial clout increase.
The Asaib Ahl Al-Haq faction, led by Qais Al-Khazali, who is a key figure in the Coordination Framework, won 27 seats in the latest election, making it harder to exclude it from the government.
A potential compromise is to deny it a key portfolio, as in the current government.
“The US has turned a blind eye before, so they might after all engage with the government as a whole but not with ministries held by armed groups,” a former Iraqi official said.
Other blacklisted groups are:
+ Kataeb Hezbollah, one of the most powerful armed groups, supports a parliamentary bloc (six seats).
+ Kataeb Sayyid Al-Shuhada, Kataeb Imam Ali and Harakat Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya.
+ The Al-Nujaba movement is the only group that has steered clear of elections.
- What is at stake? -
Iraq has its economic growth to worry about.
After decades of turmoil, it has only begun to regain a sense of normalcy in recent years.
Washington has already imposed sanctions on several Iraqi entities and banks, accusing them of helping Tehran evade sanctions.
But Iraqi leaders hope for greater foreign investments and support partnerships with US companies.
The most striking endorsement came from Khazali, an opponent of the US military presence who now argues that it would be in Baghdad’s interest for major US companies to invest.
Since the Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, Iraq has remained relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.
Iraqi armed groups did launch attacks on US troops and largely unsuccessful ones on Israel. Washington responded with heavy strikes, and the attacks have long-since halted.
Iraq remained the only close regional ally of Iran to stay out of Israel’s crosshairs.
So far, the US has acted as a buffer, helping to prevent an Israeli attack, but Iraqis have been warned of strikes against the armed groups, multiple sources said.
But as the presence of American forces dwindles, fears are growing.
Amid seismic changes in the Middle East, where new alliances are forming and old powers waning, Iraqi leaders face a daunting task: navigating relations with US-blacklisted pro-Iranian factions.
- What does the US want? -
The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.
But another spectre also haunts Iraq’s halls of power: Washington’s arch-foe, Iran.
Iraq has long been caught between the two, with successive governments negotiating a delicate balance.
Now, after November’s election, Washington has demanded the eventual government must exclude Iran-backed armed groups and instead move to dismantle them, Iraqi officials and diplomats told AFP.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Iraqi leaders well know what is and is not compatible with a strong US-Iraq partnership.”
Washington, the spokesperson said, “will continue to speak plainly to the urgency of dismantling Iran-backed militias.”
But some of these groups have increased their presence in the new chamber and have joined the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties with varying ties to Iran and which holds the majority.
For weeks, the Coordination Framework has been embroiled in talks to nominate the next prime minister.
“The US has put conditions that armed factions should not be part of the new government,” a senior Iraqi official said. The factions must disarm and “sever ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,” he added.
In recent tweets, the US special envoy to Iraq, Mark Savaya said that Iraqi leaders are at a “crossroads.”
Their decision “will send a clear and unmistakable signal to the United States... that Iraq is ready to claim its rightful place as a stable and respected nation in the new Middle East.
“The alternative is equally clear: economic deterioration, political confusion, and international isolation,” Savaya said.
- Which armed groups? -
The US has blacklisted as “terrorist organizations” several armed groups from within the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary alliance now integrated into the armed forces.
They are also part of the Iran-backed so-called “axis of resistance” and have called for the withdrawal of US troops — deployed in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition — and launched attacks against them.
Most of these groups hold seats in parliament and have seen their political and financial clout increase.
The Asaib Ahl Al-Haq faction, led by Qais Al-Khazali, who is a key figure in the Coordination Framework, won 27 seats in the latest election, making it harder to exclude it from the government.
A potential compromise is to deny it a key portfolio, as in the current government.
“The US has turned a blind eye before, so they might after all engage with the government as a whole but not with ministries held by armed groups,” a former Iraqi official said.
Other blacklisted groups are:
+ Kataeb Hezbollah, one of the most powerful armed groups, supports a parliamentary bloc (six seats).
+ Kataeb Sayyid Al-Shuhada, Kataeb Imam Ali and Harakat Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya.
+ The Al-Nujaba movement is the only group that has steered clear of elections.
- What is at stake? -
Iraq has its economic growth to worry about.
After decades of turmoil, it has only begun to regain a sense of normalcy in recent years.
Washington has already imposed sanctions on several Iraqi entities and banks, accusing them of helping Tehran evade sanctions.
But Iraqi leaders hope for greater foreign investments and support partnerships with US companies.
The most striking endorsement came from Khazali, an opponent of the US military presence who now argues that it would be in Baghdad’s interest for major US companies to invest.
Since the Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, Iraq has remained relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.
Iraqi armed groups did launch attacks on US troops and largely unsuccessful ones on Israel. Washington responded with heavy strikes, and the attacks have long-since halted.
Iraq remained the only close regional ally of Iran to stay out of Israel’s crosshairs.
So far, the US has acted as a buffer, helping to prevent an Israeli attack, but Iraqis have been warned of strikes against the armed groups, multiple sources said.
But as the presence of American forces dwindles, fears are growing.
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