Geolocation: Fadi and his colleagues were outside the "red"
evacuation area, in the "yellow" zone designated by the
Israeli military the day before the attack.
Forensic Analysis: Experts and doctors believe the bullet
that struck Fadi’s neck was a high-velocity round, likely
fired from above.
Five journalists, including Fadi, say were directly fired at
by a "quadcopter" drone, despite wearing press vests and
reporting in broad daylight from a supposedly safe zone.
Despite numerous witness accounts, the use of such sniper
drones in Gaza remains unverified through video or photos,
though the technology exists and Israel has it.
The Israeli military has not responded to questions about
al-Wahidi’s case, but stated that it does not target
journalists.
On the same day, Mohammed al Tannani of Al Aqsa TV was killed
in a nearby airstrike, while Tamer Lubbad was injured.
The image of Al Jazeera cameraman Fadi al-Wahidi lying motionless
on the pavement, his press vest visible but useless, shot just
above it in the neck, quickly spread among journalists in Gaza. It
was October 9, 2024, and al-Wahidi had been reporting on the
displacement of Palestinian families in al-Saftawi, an area in
Jabalia in northern Gaza designated by the Israeli military as a
"yellow" zone, outside of the "red" evacuation area.
In video footage of that day, gunfire is heard erupting. Moments
later, al-Wahidi lies on the ground, unmoving. His colleagues are
unable to reach him immediately for fear of being shot themselves.
The image of Fadi will remind many of the lifeless body of Shireen
Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist who was killed by
the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in
May of 2022—a journalist in a press vest, shot while reporting
Islam Bader, a journalist with Al Araby TV, was across the street.
"The gunfire didn’t stop, it was chasing us. But when you're in
that situation, you can't look around…at one point I heard them
saying “Fadi, Fadi”, I tried to understand the scene… I looked
around, Fadi was on the ground"
Six journalists, including al-Wahidi, interviewed for this report,
say they were directly targeted despite standing in broad
daylight, wearing press vests and reporting from an area the
Israeli military had designated a "yellow" zone, a supposed safe
area. ARIJ and its partners geolocated their position, confirming
they were outside the red evacuation zone [confirm exact
distance]. In several videos, the flak jackets are clearly marked
"PRESS."
"We were shot at directly," said al-Wahidi from his hospital bed
in Gaza before his evacuation. "Even now in my ears, the bullets
are bouncing off the door next to me, into the walls next to me."
"We were fully identifiable as journalists…the gunfire was aimed
directly at us," says Mohammed Shaheen, a journalist for Al
Jazeera Mubasher who was also there that day.
A video taken by al-Wahidi himself, obtained by ARIJ and its
partners but never posted online, captures the last 16 seconds
before he was hit. He’s running, filming in selfie mode, when the
screen jolts and the video cuts off.
The attack on al-Wahidi wasn’t the only one on journalists in
Jabalia that day. About half an hour earlier and about one
kilometer away [confirm distance], Mohammed al-Tanani, a cameraman
for Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an airstrike. Tamer Lubbad, the
channel’s correspondent, was injured in the same attack. They,
too, were in the "yellow" zone designated by the Israeli military,
Lubbad says.
Lubbad says they were wearing their press gear. "It’s clear to
everyone that we are journalists… We were targeted."
Three days earlier, also in Jabalia, 19-year-old journalist Hassan
Hamad became the youngest reporter killed by Israeli forces during
the war in Gaza.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called the war in
Gaza the deadliest conflict for journalists the organization has
documented. At least 162 Palestinian journalists have been killed
since October 2023, according to CPJ. Other organizations, like
the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), put the number of
Palestinian journalists killed at above 200. The death toll now
exceeds the number of journalists killed during World War II,
which lasted six years.
The precise number of wounded journalists remains unclear. CPJ
puts the figure of journalists who have been injured since the
start of the war at 59, though the true number is likely higher
due to challenges in documentation.
Journalists in Gaza have long said they were being targeted. Since
October 2023, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has filed four
complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing
Israel of committing war crimes against journalists. The
organization stated it has "reasonable grounds to believe that
some of these journalists were deliberately killed."
The Israeli military has repeatedly denied targeting journalists,
including in a statement to the consortium for this storyand has
accused some of being members of Hamas’ military wing and were
thereful “lawful” targets under international law, but provided no
evidence
Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression,
has documented cases that contradict this claim. "There have been
clearly cases where I have taken testimony from journalists who
were injured, perhaps, or those who were around in that area where
it's very clear that they were targeted," she said.
"I was filming a report for my colleague Anas al-Sharif,"
al-Wahidi recalls the moments before the attack. "We were
surprised by a drone [that] appeared and fired directly at us."
The five journalists interviewed all said they were fired at by an
Israeli drone—what Gazans commonly refer to as a "quadcopter," a
term they use for drones that fire bullets.
The five journalists interviewed all said they were fired at by an
Israeli drone—what Gazans commonly refer to as a "quadcopter," a
term they use for drones that fire bullets.
The existence of sniper drone technology is well-documented, and
Israel has been developing it since at least 2017. Yet, despite
widespread accounts from people in Gaza describing attacks by
these drones, no visual or photographic proof has emerged.
The existence of sniper drone technology is well-documented, and
Israel has been developing it since at least 2017. Yet, despite
widespread accounts
from people in Gaza describing attacks by these drones, no visual
or photographic proof has emerged.
In
testimony
before the UK Parliament last November, surgeon Nizam Mamode, who
volunteered in Gaza, said he treated numerous injuries that people
said were caused by sniper drones. James Patton Rogers, a drone
expert at Cornell University, said the technology exists and will
likely be deployed in the future but emphasized that without
footage, he cannot confirm its use in Gaza.
Islam Bader is certain. "Without a shadow of a doubt, it came from
a quadcopter, because we were not within the direct line of fire
[of the Israeli Army]." He adds that they did not film it because
it’s "deadly." "No one dares to raise a camera, as you never know
where it might strike next."
The journalists said they have learned to distinguish between the
constant hum of surveillance drones, which they have grown
accustomed to, and the sharper, more distinct sound of firing
"quadcopters."
Shaheen says these drones "fire automatically, unlike a sniper,
who shoots intermittently." Imam Bader adds, "the sound of the
drone's fire is distinct, and the shots and the sound of the
gunfire come from above" Mahmoud Shalha agrees. "It’s recognized
by its sound. They used it a lot in the war.
ARIJ and its partners obtained and reviewed multiple medical
reports detailing the devastating impact of the bullet that struck
al-Wahidi.
The two surgeons who operated on Fadi in Gaza—a vascular surgeon
and a neurosurgeon—said a single bullet entered from the
front/left side of his neck, just above his vest, and exited at a
lower point in the back, near the upper vertebrae of his spinal
cord, damaging them as it passed through.
Jinan Khatib, a forensic expert accredited by the Lebanese
Ministry of Justice, reviewed CT scans and photos of al-Wahidi’s
wounds and told the consortium that one could "reasonably conclude
that the bullet was fired from a higher level in relation to the
victim."
Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, Professor of Conflict Medicine at the
American University of Beirut, who was in Gaza during the early
months of the war, also reviewed the images and reports. He
concluded that "the injury is consistent with a high velocity
gunshot wound." He added, "The bullet was fired from above, bec
the entry point is higher in the neck than the area of damage in
the spine, so it’s a downward trajectory of the bullet."
The Israeli army did not respond to specific questions about
al-Wahidi’s case but said they "outright reject the allegation of
a systemic attack on journalists" and could not address
"operational directives and regulations as they are classified,
however, every operational action or strike is
mandated by IDF directives, which instruct commanders to apply the
basic rules of the law of armed conflict (LOAC."
Islam Bader was the first to reach al-Wahidi minutes after he was shot. Journalists at the scene carried him to the car and rushed to the Baptist Hospital in Gaza. Al Tanani and Lubbad, the other journalists killed and injured in Jabalaia that day, were brought to the same hospital.
Al-Wahidi suffered severe injuries and went in and out of a coma.
The spinal injury left him unable to move his lower body. Two
surgeries stabilized him, but Gaza’s healthcare system, which is
damaged by repeated Israeli attacks on hospitals, lacked the
resources for his treatment. Medical supplies were running low and
hospitals were overwhelmed. He needed to be evacuated.
Israel refused, citing security concerns. Calls for his evacuation
grew. UN human rights officials—including Irene Khan, Francesca
Albanese and Tlaleng Mofokeng—issued a
joint statement
demanding his immediate transfer. "Israel has an obligation under
international law to facilitate that right," they wrote. The
Israeli Ministry of Defense unit responsible for coordination,
COGAT, denied the request according to the statement.
Al-Wahidi was only allowed to leave after a ceasefire was
brokered. On February 8, 2025—122 days after he was shot—he was
evacuated to Egypt.
COGAT did not respond to inquiries about what had changed during
this period to allow al-Wahidi and his family to evacuate Gaza.
For weeks after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect
in January, no journalists in Gaza were killed. But on March 15,
while the ceasefire was still in effect, that changed. At least
seven people, including at least two journalists, were killed in
two Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia. Israel admitted to the killings
and accused the journalists of being members of Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, without providing evidence. Asked by
the consortium for details, the Israeli military said it would not
issue further statements. (if army responds add here)
Just two nights later, on March 17, Israel launched a wave of
airstrikes across Gaza, killing more than 400 people in a single
night and effectively ending the ceasefire, according to the Gaza
Health Ministry. Former ABC News journalist Hussam al-Titi was
among them. As the war returned in full force, journalists once
again fear for their safety.
Fadi turned 25 last January. He says there’s "electricity in his
hands" that keeps him up all night. "The painkillers don’t work,"
he says, his voice frail. His future remains uncertain. His life
was permanently reshaped by a bullet. Yet in photos from his
hospital beds—in Gaza, Cairo and now Doha—he’s almost always
smiling.
Fadi turned 25 last January. He says there’s "electricity in his
hands" that keeps him up all night. "The painkillers don’t work,"
he says, his voice frail. His future remains uncertain. His life
was permanently reshaped by a bullet. Yet in photos from his
hospital beds—in Gaza, Cairo and now Doha—he’s almost always
smiling.
"
Since the injury, I can’t walk. I can’t do anything," he said.
"And that’s been my reality. I hope that I can walk again, so I
can go back to planning the future I was dreaming of.
"
This investigation was completed with support from ARIJ