Ayman Haniyeh
Ayman Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli drone strike while traveling home from work in Gaza City on September 2, 2025.
According to his father and colleagues, Haniyeh had left Al-Manara’s studio shortly before 9 p.m. and was only minutes away from his home when an Israeli drone fired on the area, fatally striking him. He was killed instantly at the scene. The strike occurred just after he had spoken with his mother by phone to say he was on his way home. His family stated that he had been attempting to bring small gifts to cheer his displaced sister and her children as part of a modest birthday celebration. The incident took place only hours after another Al-Manara cameraman, Rasmi Jihad Salem, was also killed in a separate Israeli strike in Gaza City.
Biography
Ayman Haniyeh, a 26-year-old Palestinian broadcast engineer with Al-Manara Television Production Company in Gaza City, was killed on September 2, 2025, in an Israeli drone strike as he was returning home after completing a live broadcast. Dedicated to his work and recently graduated in electrical and communications engineering, Haniyeh had been providing satellite broadcast services for Al-Alam through Al-Manara. He died just minutes before reaching his family home in Tel al-Hawa, where he was planning to celebrate his birthday with his mother, sister, and displaced relatives.
Ayman Haniyeh was a young and promising Palestinian broadcast engineer who had recently begun his professional career with Al-Manara Television Production Company, which provides media services to the Iranian Arabic-language news channel Al-Alam. After graduating shortly before the war, he devoted himself to working in the media field, ensuring live transmission and satellite broadcast services amid ongoing bombardment and communication blackouts in Gaza. On the night of September 2, 2025, after finishing his final live transmission at 8:30 p.m., he left the studio with plans to celebrate his 26th birthday at home with his family, who had already been deeply affected by displacement and destruction. Moments after calling his mother to tell her he was on the way, an Israeli drone strike hit him near his family home in Tel al-Hawa, killing him instantly. His colleagues and family remembered him as a devoted professional who sought to bring moments of joy to his loved ones despite the ongoing war.
Sources & References
The strike that killed Ayman Haniyeh occurred amid escalating hostilities in Gaza. As a broadcast engineer, he was working to maintain media operations, a vital service for the community. The air strike hit the area where he was located, resulting in his immediate death. His passing reflects the dangers faced not only by journalists reporting from conflict zones but also by the technical staff who make media operations possible.1 en.wikipedia.org Open source
The IDF’s North America Media Desk responded to a CPJ email seeking clarification on the recent killings of Haniyeh and three other journalists — Islam Abed, Rasmi Jihad Salem, and Osama Balousha — with a general statement saying it takes “all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians including journalists” and that it “never deliberately targets journalists as such.”2 cpj.org Open source