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| Italian Journalist Is Among Six Dead in Gaza Bomb-Disposal Accident | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip — The bombs had stopped falling on the Gaza Strip, so a crew from The Associated Press set out Wednesday morning to do a story on the people who pick them up. Two of the journalists, an Italian videographer and a local Palestinian helping him with arrangements and translation, were killed along with four members of Gaza’s unexploded-ordnance squad as they attempted to defuse what officials described as an Israeli bomb. | |
| The blast occurred in a dirt soccer field in this northern Gaza town where the squad, part of the Hamas-run police force, has collected unexploded rockets, missiles, bombs dropped from Israeli aircraft and other potentially dangerous weapons from homes, streets, or wherever they landed. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the squad had retrieved more than 1,000 unexploded items since the battle between Israeli forces and Gaza’s militants began July 8, many of them during the 72-hour cease-fire set to expire after 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. | The blast occurred in a dirt soccer field in this northern Gaza town where the squad, part of the Hamas-run police force, has collected unexploded rockets, missiles, bombs dropped from Israeli aircraft and other potentially dangerous weapons from homes, streets, or wherever they landed. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the squad had retrieved more than 1,000 unexploded items since the battle between Israeli forces and Gaza’s militants began July 8, many of them during the 72-hour cease-fire set to expire after 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. |
| Simone Camilli, 35, a video journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, who started as an intern at The A.P. in 2005, was the first international journalist killed in the latest Gaza conflict. His interpreter, Ali Shehda Abu Afash, 36, helped train local journalists through the Doha Center for Media Freedom and worked regularly with visiting foreign correspondents. | |
| Mr. Camilli, who is survived by a longtime partner, Ylva van den Berg, and their 3-year-old daughter, Nour, covered conflicts around the Middle East. He had been in Gaza during the last major Israeli military operation in 2012, when his footage of a bomb exploding on Saraya, a collection of historic buildings that housed government offices, was among the most widely used. Colleagues said he had chosen to return to Gaza last week rather than go to Erbil, Iraq, because of a deep attachment to the place and its people. | |
| “He loved storytelling — very inquisitive and always kind of deconstructing, trying to come up with the narrative,” said Tanya Habjouqa, an award-winning photojournalist and close friend in Jerusalem, where Mr. Camilli was based from 2006 until about six months ago. “Always convinced that it was often in the most blatant stories there would be a tiny, human missed element that would bring it all in a fresh light.” | “He loved storytelling — very inquisitive and always kind of deconstructing, trying to come up with the narrative,” said Tanya Habjouqa, an award-winning photojournalist and close friend in Jerusalem, where Mr. Camilli was based from 2006 until about six months ago. “Always convinced that it was often in the most blatant stories there would be a tiny, human missed element that would bring it all in a fresh light.” |
| Mr. Abu Afash, the father of two young girls, was a computer engineer who had quit his job at a health union in Gaza a few years ago to work with journalists, as a local assistant mainly for Agence France-Presse, and as an advocate for young Palestinians trying to succeed as freelancers. Friends said he had traveled to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other places for workshops, played soccer with colleagues here in Gaza, and was well known for going to extremes to help others. | |
| “When a colleague was injured covering a demonstration in 2010, he went with him all the way to Turkey and he stood beside him while he was receiving treatment,” recalled one Gaza photographer, Ashraf Amra. | “When a colleague was injured covering a demonstration in 2010, he went with him all the way to Turkey and he stood beside him while he was receiving treatment,” recalled one Gaza photographer, Ashraf Amra. |
| Mouna Moussa, a friend who was among dozens of women mourning with his wife and mother, said, “Whenever he hears someone’s computer had a problem, he would come to the house and fix it.” | Mouna Moussa, a friend who was among dozens of women mourning with his wife and mother, said, “Whenever he hears someone’s computer had a problem, he would come to the house and fix it.” |
| His Gaza City apartment was damaged during the fighting last month, but “he still dedicated all his time to his work,” said a cousin, Abdullah Abu Afash, 26. | His Gaza City apartment was damaged during the fighting last month, but “he still dedicated all his time to his work,” said a cousin, Abdullah Abu Afash, 26. |
| Adel Hana, the chief Associated Press photographer in Gaza, said the two men met the bomb-disposal squad in Beit Lahiya around 10 a.m. Wednesday along with Hatem Moussa, 38, a photographer who was seriously wounded in the blast that happened about 45 minutes later. The men knew there were risks in defusing bombs and “talked about danger every day,” Mr. Hana said. “They went to do a story and that’s it.” | Adel Hana, the chief Associated Press photographer in Gaza, said the two men met the bomb-disposal squad in Beit Lahiya around 10 a.m. Wednesday along with Hatem Moussa, 38, a photographer who was seriously wounded in the blast that happened about 45 minutes later. The men knew there were risks in defusing bombs and “talked about danger every day,” Mr. Hana said. “They went to do a story and that’s it.” |
| An article about the bomb squad published last week in The National, an English-language Middle East regional newspaper, said it had 70 members, who generally do not wear protective gear as they respond to calls from concerned citizens about the ordnance found in their neighborhoods. The vast majority of the munitions are Israeli, the article said, but the squad has also dealt with “tens” of rockets that Hamas, the militant faction that dominates Gaza, or other groups launched toward Israel but that failed to make it out of the coastal territory. | An article about the bomb squad published last week in The National, an English-language Middle East regional newspaper, said it had 70 members, who generally do not wear protective gear as they respond to calls from concerned citizens about the ordnance found in their neighborhoods. The vast majority of the munitions are Israeli, the article said, but the squad has also dealt with “tens” of rockets that Hamas, the militant faction that dominates Gaza, or other groups launched toward Israel but that failed to make it out of the coastal territory. |
| Eyad Bouzom, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said the squad had some trouble Wednesday morning with an undetonated bomb dropped by an Israeli F-16 in a pile on the soccer field, which sits between a religious court and a food distribution center, across the street from police headquarters. So they called in Taysir al Houm, the head of the bomb-disposal unit in north Gaza, who in turn called Hazem Abu Murad, chief of the entire squad. | |
| Both were killed instantly, along with the two journalists and another police expert. A fourth member of the bomb squad was critically wounded and died hours later. | |
| “It’s life and death,” Mr. Abu Murad, who was 39 and had a degree in Islamic law, was quoted as saying to describe the work in The National article. “One small tweak in the wrong direction, even a millimeter, and you’re dead.” | “It’s life and death,” Mr. Abu Murad, who was 39 and had a degree in Islamic law, was quoted as saying to describe the work in The National article. “One small tweak in the wrong direction, even a millimeter, and you’re dead.” |
| Hundreds of men joined a funeral march down a main street for Mr. Abu Murad, carrying green Hamas flags and firing gunshots in the air, in a style not seen during the weeks of hostilities. “Your Army!” called a leader over a loudspeaker. “Al Qassam!” responded the crowd, referring to the armed wing of Hamas. | Hundreds of men joined a funeral march down a main street for Mr. Abu Murad, carrying green Hamas flags and firing gunshots in the air, in a style not seen during the weeks of hostilities. “Your Army!” called a leader over a loudspeaker. “Al Qassam!” responded the crowd, referring to the armed wing of Hamas. |
| Mr. Camilli was expected to be buried in Italy, where his father is the mayor of a small town in the Tuscany region. Ms. Habjouqa, who described her friend as “handsome, charming, unassuming,” had recently spent two weeks on vacation in the town with Mr. Camilli and their families. | Mr. Camilli was expected to be buried in Italy, where his father is the mayor of a small town in the Tuscany region. Ms. Habjouqa, who described her friend as “handsome, charming, unassuming,” had recently spent two weeks on vacation in the town with Mr. Camilli and their families. |
| The adults made a pact not to check email or the news so they could stay focused on their small children, she said. But first thing each morning, Mr. Camilli “would slink off and read what was happening in Gaza,” Ms. Habjouqa said. “He was always very quiet and thoughtful, he would smoke his cigarette and have his coffee, and say how many people had been killed.” | The adults made a pact not to check email or the news so they could stay focused on their small children, she said. But first thing each morning, Mr. Camilli “would slink off and read what was happening in Gaza,” Ms. Habjouqa said. “He was always very quiet and thoughtful, he would smoke his cigarette and have his coffee, and say how many people had been killed.” |