Mohammad al-Salihi

Their life

Mohammad al-Salihi, a 29-year-old journalist for the Palestinian news agency Al-Sulta al-Rabia, was killed on October 7, 2023, during an Israeli strike in the Bureij district on Gaza’s eastern border. Clearly identified as a member of the press—wearing a helmet and vest marked “PRESS”—he was reporting on the first day of the war between Israel and Hamas when the attack occurred. His death was later confirmed by the Palestinian health ministry, making him one of the first journalists killed in the conflict.

Mohammad al-Salihi was a 29-year-old Palestinian journalist working with the Al-Sulta al-Rabia news agency. Dedicated to reporting events on the ground, he was among the earliest reporters to cover the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023. While documenting the initial bombardments in the Bureij district, near Gaza’s eastern border, he was struck and killed by Israeli fire. Despite wearing visible press markings on his vest and helmet, identifying him as a journalist, he was targeted in the line of duty. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed his death hours later. His killing underscored the extreme dangers faced by journalists reporting from active conflict zones and contributed to growing international condemnation of attacks on members of the media.

How they died

He was Killed by an Israeli airstrike while covering the start of the war.

Mohammad al-Salihi died when an Israeli strike hit the area of Bureij, on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, as he covered the opening clashes of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Eyewitness accounts reported that he was clearly marked as a journalist, wearing a press helmet and vest. Despite these visible identifications, he was fatally struck during the bombardment.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Mohammad al-Salihi, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources