Colleagues mourn Gaza cameraman killed in Bureij strike
Ahmed Wishah, 25, an Al Jazeera Mubasher cameraman, was killed in Gaza weeks after his journalist brother died in Israeli shelling.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Palestinian journalists are mourning Ahmed Wishah, an Al Jazeera Mubasher cameraman killed Saturday in Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp. Al Jazeera said his death adds to a mounting toll on the press in Gaza, where the network says 12 of its journalists have been killed by Israel.
Wishah, 25, was killed when an Israeli air attack struck a house, according to Al Jazeera. The network reported that two other Palestinians also died in the strike, and said Israel has continued attacks despite an October 2025 ceasefire.
Al Jazeera identified him as Ahmed Samir Mohammed Wishah, the youngest of three brothers and a native of al-Bureij in central Gaza. He worked as a cameraman for Al Jazeera Mubasher, the network’s live channel.
A family of journalists
Wishah became known during Israel’s war in Gaza while filming alongside his brother Mohammed Wishah, an Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent, according to the network. Mohammed was killed on April 8 in Israeli shelling, Al Jazeera reported.
After his brother’s death, Ahmed Wishah urged action to stop attacks on journalists. In an April interview quoted by Al Jazeera, he said Mohammed’s death should be “the end to the killing of journalists” and called on the world to stop Israel from targeting members of the press.
Al Jazeera said Wishah also helped care for Mohammed’s children after his brother was killed and took on more family responsibilities.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 260 Palestinian journalists have been killed since Israel began its war in October 2023, according to Al Jazeera. The network described Gaza as the deadliest place in the world for journalists.
Colleagues recall his work and character
Talal Mahmoud, an Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent in Gaza, said he had known Wishah since the start of the war and often worked with him at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp. Mahmoud said Wishah regularly joined him on assignments and documented events over months of coverage.
Mahmoud also described a recent encounter in which Wishah brought colleagues maftoul, a traditional Palestinian dish, from his mother in memory of Mohammed. He said the group ate together and prayed for Mohammed.
Khaled Al-Shatli, an Al Jazeera Mubasher cameraman, described Wishah from the Martyrs Cemetery in al-Bureij as polite and good-natured. Al-Shatli said Wishah had been taking photos with friends and relatives in Bureij shortly before his death, which he later viewed as a farewell.
Mohammad Al-Akhras, a photojournalist with CGTN, remembered Wishah as kind, gentle and principled. Al-Akhras said Wishah approached his work with passion and wanted his coverage to carry the suffering of Palestinians to the world.
Israel’s allegation and Al Jazeera’s response
An Israeli military spokesman told AFP on Saturday that Wishah was a “Hamas terrorist,” according to Al Jazeera, which said no evidence was provided for the allegation.
Al Jazeera rejected the accusation as baseless and said Israel has repeatedly spread false claims about its staff to justify attacks on its journalists and camera operators in Gaza. The network called the allegations part of a smear campaign.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has previously criticized what it called Israel’s smearing of killed Palestinian journalists, saying it had documented a pattern of accusations that journalists were terrorists without credible evidence, according to Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera said it would pursue available legal measures over what it called crimes against its staff in Gaza and would continue reporting from the enclave.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.