Gaza, January 12 (QNA) - Two more journalists have been martyred in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza Strip, taking the death toll of journalists since Oct. 7 to 117, the Gaza Government Media Office announced.

"The number of journalists killed has risen to 117 since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza Strip, after the loss of our colleagues, journalists Fuad Abu Khamash and Mohammed Al Thalathini," the media office stated.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated that Abu Khamash, a volunteer photographer for the society, was martyred along with five others, including three of its staffers, in an Israeli shelling that targeted an ambulance in the central part of Gaza Strip.

According to the media office and human rights organizations, the Israeli army deliberately targets Palestinian journalists to prevent them from reporting the crimes it commits in Gaza.

The number of journalists who have lost their lives due to the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 has surpassed the total number of journalists killed worldwide in 2021 and 2022.

According to local and international data, 109 journalists were killed worldwide in 2021 and 2022, while the death toll of journalists due to Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 has reached 117. (QNA)