It was one of the most beautiful panoramas of Gaza, one of the most sought after by journalists. On the twelfth floor of the Al-Jalaa building in the center of the city, the roof terrace of the offices of the American agency Associated Press (AP) offered a breathtaking view of the coastal enclave.
In each war, its photographers and cameramen could follow the crossover of rockets from the Palestinian movement Hamas, launched towards the Hebrew state and most often intercepted in flight, and missiles from the Israeli air force, pulverizing infrastructure and facilities. dwellings in the poverty-stricken Palestinian sandstrip.
This balcony on the Gazan tragedy will no longer receive journalists. It was reduced to rubble on Saturday, May 15, by Israeli army fire, which brought down the entire building. The offices of two other media were demolished in this bombardment: those of the Qatari Al-Jazeera audiovisual empire, which housed the teams of the Arabic-speaking channel and its English-speaking counterpart; and those of Kuwaiti state television.
“You destroyed the work of a lifetime”
The attack came on the fifth day of the confrontation between Hamas and Israel, which has already resulted in the deaths of 145 people, including 41 children, and nearly 1,100 injured in Palestinian territory, and the deaths of ten people in Israel. The Israeli military justified the destruction of the office tower by claiming that it housed “Military means” of Hamas, without however providing any evidence to support these claims.
AP, who had been in this place for fifteen years, assured that he never had the indication that the Palestinian movement was also in the building: “This is something that we are actively testing to the best of our ability. We would never knowingly endanger our journalists. “ The agency also called on the Israeli government to provide evidence.
The AP says that they had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building. “This is something we… https://t.co/2sXwEAJGgK
As the Israeli military announced their intention to destroy the building an hour before the strike, everyone inside was able to evacuate before the explosion. Al-Jazeera TV broadcast a video of the owner, Jawwad Mahdi, asking an Israeli officer over the phone to wait ten more minutes. “All I’m asking is to let four people in, so they can get their cameras back. “ Faced with the refusal of his interlocutor, he adds: “You destroyed a lifetime’s work, our memories, our existence. I’ll hang up, do whatever you want. There is a God. “
You have 60.84% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.