Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Ismail Maher Khamis al-Ghoul (January 14, 1997 – July 31, 2024) was a Palestinian journalist and Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza . He is considered one of the most prominent journalists who covered the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip. Israel assassinated the young Palestinian journalist on the eve of July 31, 2024, along with his colleague, photographer Rami al-Rifi, in an Israeli bombing that targeted them in Gaza City, shortly after they covered the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran from Haniyeh’s destroyed home in the Strip. Ismail had appeared in a live broadcast on Al Jazeera only a few hours before his assassination by Israel. Despite the journalist’s response to the Israeli threat to bomb the area he was in, in addition to wearing a press vest, an Israeli drone deliberately pursued the car he was riding in with his photographer friend and fired a guided missile at them, killing them instantly and on the spot.
Career
the beginning
Ismail obtained a BA in journalism from the Islamic University , and began his career in print journalism as a correspondent for the local newspapers Al-Risala and Filastin. He later moved into television work through his work with several media production companies in Gaza.
Al Jazeera
With the start of Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli-Palestinian war that broke out after the operation, Ismail signed a contract with Al Jazeera satellite channel . He started by transmitting news via telephone calls from Gaza, before he began preparing television reports, and then, as the weeks passed, he began to appear in live broadcasts from the heart of Gaza City and the northern regions.
On the morning of Monday, March 18, 2024, he was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces, along with dozens of others, after the occupation forces stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. Ismail was assaulted by Israeli soldiers at the time of his arrest and then taken to an unknown location, before being released by Israeli forces the next day after 12 hours of interrogation and investigation.
Ismail continued to emerge as the main correspondent for the Qatari channel and appeared on its screen almost every day in live and exclusive coverage. He and his photographer companion, Al-Rifai, worked in extremely difficult conditions to convey important news, as mentioned by the Washington Press Club. Ismail, like the rest of the Gazans, suffered from the famine that struck the north and the central region, as well as from a severe shortage of water. However, he continued his coverage and documentation of events at a time when he could have fled or even left the Strip through the Rafah crossing, and he faced great dangers and continuous threats from the Israeli occupation.
Ismail's reports were distinguished by conveying an image of Gaza as it is to the world, as he showed the suffering of the Gazans and documented the atrocities of the Israeli occupation against them. The man's fame increased over time, especially during his daily and direct coverage of the siege and invasion of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and the severe famine that struck the northern neighborhoods due to the strict Israeli siege. According to Al Jazeera Network, Ismail's reports received wide attention and were broadcast by international agencies and channels after they were constantly requested by Al Jazeera.
It is worth mentioning here that Ismail continued to cover and preferred to stay in the heart of Gaza despite the challenges of hunger and disease. He even lost his father during the war due to cancer, for which he could not find a place to complete his treatment due to the Israeli destruction of the hospitals in the Strip. He also lost his brother earlier in an Israeli bombing of the apartment he was in.
private life
Ismail was married and had a young daughter, about whom he would post from time to time on his official social media accounts, explaining how she was living her early years away from him and growing up without him having the opportunity to see her. Ismail had not seen his daughter since the beginning of the war, due to the repeated and deliberate Israeli targeting of anyone moving between the governorates. She and her mother were in the central governorate, while he remained in the northern governorate, tied to his work and continuing to cover the successive and accelerating events.
Assassination
Deliberate targeting
Ismail al-Ghoul appeared on Al Jazeera in a live broadcast during the afternoon news bulletin, where he appeared in front of Ismail Haniyeh’s destroyed house in the Gaza Strip, talking about the feelings and reactions of the people of Gaza when they heard the news of the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Not long after al-Ghoul appeared on Al Jazeera, Israel carried out an airstrike shortly after 5:00 pm (Palestine time) near Ismail Haniyeh’s house in the Shati refugee camp , the location where Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman companion Rami al-Rifi were. The bombing targeted the roof of a house next to Ismail Haniyeh’s house while a number of journalists were present, and then Israeli drones attacked anyone who tried to escape the bombing site with missiles. Ismail and his cameraman companion tried to escape in their car, but the Israeli drone tracked them down and deliberately attacked them, as they were known to it and were wearing press clothing. This raid resulted in the death of Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and photographer Rami al-Rifai on the spot.
Al Jazeera launched a live coverage with another Palestinian journalist, Anas Al Sharif , who arrived at the scene of the massacre of the two journalists. Anas was affected and unable to speak, with tears filling his eyes. While providing explanations and answers to journalist Rula Ibrahim in the Al Jazeera studio, close to his comrade’s body, Al Sharif said that he could not lift the cloth off the body after all the mutilation it had suffered as a result of the deliberate Israeli bombing, and that Ismail’s head had been completely separated from his body.
reactions
In an official statement , Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the assassination of its correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul and photographer Rami Al-Rifi, announcing that the occupation targeted the car carrying the two with a guided missile, which led to their immediate death. The network said that this crime is added to the series of crimes that Al Jazeera journalists and their families have been subjected to in Gaza since October 2023, vowing to take all available legal measures to prosecute the killers of its journalists and finally affirming its commitment to achieving justice for its journalists and for more than 160 journalists who have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of the war. The International Federation of Journalists also condemned this crime and said that these crimes against media professionals and journalists in Gaza must be stopped immediately, stressing that the sooner the International Criminal Court investigates the killing of journalists, the better. Reporters Without Borders filed three complaints with the International Criminal Court, along with a statement condemning what happened. The International Committee of the Red Cross also condemned the assassination of Ismail al-Ghoul and his companion, photographer Rami al-Rifi, saying that Israel launched an air strike on them while they were wearing blue vests with press insignia, calling for the protection of journalists.
Source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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