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This investigation, conducted by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, is part of The Gaza Project, a collaboration involving 50 journalists from 13 organizations coordinated by Forbidden Stories
“Targeting of al Ghefari tower, which houses media offices, west of Gaza City,” read the chyron of Alhurra TV, a U.S. government Arabic broadcaster, just before 11:57 a.m. local time on November 2. The channel was covering the strike on an 18-story building, the tallest in the Gaza Strip. The building is visible in the far left corner of the screen when suddenly an explosion rattles the image. Debris and smoke fly live on camera. The presenter, unsure of what had happened, says, “We don’t know yet where this strike is, but it happened live just now.”
What the presenter didn’t know was that viewers were watching live on TV a strike on another media organization, Agence France-Presse, less than an hour after the one on the offices of Palestine Media Group in the al-Ghefari tower — the very building Alhurra TV was discussing while viewing the AFP live feed. AFP itself occupies the 10th and 11th floors of the 12-story Haji Tower, just a few hundred meters, or 0.2 miles, away on the same street.
The metadata error in this photo by Bashar TALEB has been corrected in AFP systems to show “[a strike]” instead of “[an Israeli strike]”. Please remove this error from all online platforms and servers. Failure to comply may result in liability. We apologize for any inconvenience and are available for further information. Earshot analysts concluded that this strike had a similar sequence of events as the four strikes on the server room, with a distant muzzle flash observed in the same area as the flashes seen in the previous strikes.
There were both similarities and differences between the PMG and AFP strikes. Both media organizations, located only a few hundred meters apart, were targeted by Israeli tanks on the same day, within an hour of each other. Both had live video cameras broadcasting from Gaza.
While the AFP office was empty during the strike, four individuals, including two journalists, were present on the 16th floor of the al-Ghefari building during the PMG strike. One person was injured in this incident.
Ismail Abu Hatab, a freelance journalist in the PMG office, recounted the moments leading up to the strike, where he was knocked unconscious by the blast. The attack directly targeted their floor, causing significant damage.
PMG had cameras set up on all sides of the building, providing a panoramic view of Gaza. The CEO of PMG noted Israeli tanks visible from the building days before the attack, with footage showing their presence. Satellite imagery confirmed the tanks’ activity in the area.
Following the attack, Shanaa took Abu Hatab to the hospital for treatment. Shanaa then traveled to southern Gaza, while al Madhoun returned to salvage equipment from the damaged office. The building was struck again later, causing further damage.
Despite the similarities in the attacks, the response to the AFP strike garnered more international attention due to AFP being an international organization. The difference in treatment between local and international media outlets was noted by journalists.
The shutdown of the AFP camera’s live feed marked the end of a crucial source of information from Gaza. Local journalists expressed frustration at the unequal treatment of media organizations in conflict zones, emphasizing the importance of all journalists’ safety.
Rapporteur special.
Al Madhoun, PMG’s CEO, highlighted that his organization was live streaming a raw feed, presenting an unfiltered reality without any accompanying commentary.
He remarked, “However, it appeared that the depiction was causing discomfort to Israel.”
Further contributions from Arthur Carpentier of Le Monde; Gaëlle Faure, Marc Jourdier, Sarah Benhaïda, Benoît Toussaint, and Jean-Marc Mojon of AFP; Léa Peruchon and Walid Batrawi of Forbidden Stories; Christo Buscheck, Maria Retter, Maria Christoph, Dajana Kolling, and Frederik Obermaier of Paper Trail Media; and Manisha Ganguly of The Guardian.
