Journalists have been among Israel’s main targets throughout the war on the Gaza Strip, with at least 175 killed by occupation forces since October 7, 2023.

Palestinian journalists have launched a campaign to urgently evacuate Al Jazeera’s cameraman Ali Al-Attar, who is in a coma following critical injuries sustained in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip.

The Qatar-based network first reported on Al-Attar’s injury on Monday, which occurred when Israeli occupation forces targeted the tents of displaced Palestinians and members of the media near the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, the centre of the Gaza Strip.

A piece of shrapnel from the air strike pierced through Al Attar’s skull, causing bleeding that resulted in him falling into a coma. 

Medics on the ground are unable to treat the Al Jazeera cameraman due to the absence of medical resources amid the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli war and complete blockade on the besieged enclave has caused the local health sector to collapse.

Al Attar’s colleagues and Palestinian journalists have called on the international community to facilitate his evacuation in order to save his life.

“Ali Al Attar is a hard-working, persistent young journalist who established himself in the midst of war and destruction. He neither sleeps at night nor rests during the day, while he delivers the images of his people on Al Jazeera in the central region of the Gaza Strip,” Wael Abu Omar, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, said on X.

Palestinian journalists have also called on Arab and international institutions to help treat Al Attar abroad.

“Ali is lying in the hospital and needs the prayers of all loyal people to come out healthy after being injured by shrapnel in the head. We call on all local, Arab and international institutions to work on treating him abroad as soon as possible to save his life,” Ashraf Amra, a Palestinian journalist and Al Jazeera colleague, said on X.

The invasion and destruction of the Gaza-Egypt Rafah Crossing on May 6 by Israeli forces has blocked medical evacuations, leaving those with life-threatening injuries and chronic illnesses without medical attention.

Rights groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have also called for the evacuation of Al Attar.

“We, CPJ, are pushing for al-Attar’s immediate evacuation. He is in a critical condition and needs urgent treatment that cannot be supplied in Gaza because of the destruction by Israel of Gazan medical facilities,” the agency’s CEO, Jodie Ginsberg, said on X.

“The U.S.- a defender of press freedom – should urge this,” she added.

Journalists have been among Israel’s main targets throughout the war on the Gaza Strip, with at least 175 killed by occupation forces since October 7, 2023. The journalists are among 41,965 killed in the blockaded territory by Israel within more than a year.

In response to Al Jazeera’s coverage of Israeli violations and occupation policies against Palestinians, Israel has targeted and killed the network’s journalists and their families on several occasions.

Meanwhile, on September 22, Israeli occupation forces raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and ordered it to shut down for 45 days. 

The raid came four months after the Israeli government shut down Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem and banned it from broadcasting for an initial period of 45 days, which it has since renewed several times.