Saeed al-Tawil
He was Killed instantly by an Israeli airstrike on the Babel Tower block in Gaza City.
While reporting on the pre-announced Israeli strike targeting the Hajji Tower, Saeed al-Tawil was caught in an explosion from an Israeli airstrike that hit the nearby Babel Tower on October 10, 2023. He died instantly at the scene, sustaining fatal injuries from the blast. The strike also killed his colleagues, Hisham al-Nawajha of Al-Khamisa and Mohammed Soboh of Khabar.
Biography
Saeed al-Tawil, a 36-year-old Palestinian journalist and editor for the news website Al-Khamisa, was killed on October 10, 2023, when an Israeli airstrike struck the Babel Tower in Gaza City. He had just evacuated Al-Khamisa’s office in the nearby Hajji Tower after Israel announced an impending strike on that building. While covering the attack from a nearby location, Saeed was killed instantly by the blast. His death, along with that of his colleagues, underscored the immense danger faced by journalists working to document the war in Gaza.
Saeed al-Tawil, aged 36, served as editor of the Palestinian online news outlet Al-Khamisa, where he led coverage of daily events and conflict developments in Gaza. Known among colleagues for his professionalism and courage, Saeed often took the lead in reporting from frontline areas despite the risks. On October 10, 2023, as Israeli forces announced an airstrike targeting the Hajji Tower, which housed Al-Khamisa’s newsroom, Saeed coordinated the evacuation of his staff to ensure their safety. Together with his photojournalist colleague Hisham al-Nawajha, he positioned himself near the Babel Tower to continue covering the event. Moments later, an Israeli missile struck the area, killing Saeed instantly. His dedication to journalism and his final act—evacuating his team before the strike—were widely recognized as a testament to his leadership and commitment to truth-telling under fire.
Additional Information
Sources & References
These three journalists were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the Babel tower block in Gaza City on 10 October. Photo-journalist Hisham al-Nawajha and his editor, Saeed al-Tawil, had evacuated the office of the Palestinian news website Al-Khamisa in the nearby Hajji tower block and had stationed themselves close to the Babel Tower to cover the pre-announced Israeli strike on their tower block. Al-Tawil was killed instantly while Al-Nawajha was badly injured and died after being rushed to Al-Shifa Hospital. Mohammed Soboh, a photo-journalist with the Palestinian news agency Khabar, was also killed instantly while covering Israel’s attack on the Hajji Tower from the Babel Tower. During the funeral ceremony for the three journalists in a Gaza City hospital a few hours later, helmets worn by press reporters were placed atop the white sheets covering their bodies as a tribute to their work as journalists.1 rsf.org Open source