Over just fourteen minutes, between 11:55 and 12:09 on November 2, 2023, four explosions rocked Gaza's Hajji Tower. Agence France-Presse (AFP) has its bureau on the top three floors of the building. The news agency had installed cameras there to broadcast live images of Gaza. During the strike, the camera was miraculously undamaged and recorded everything.
An hour earlier, it recorded a first explosion, one that hit the Al-Ghafari Tower, 300 meters away. The Palestine Media Group had set up its broadcast here, in live feeds that were transmitted by Reuters.
Who was behind these explosions?
Le Monde, in collaboration with Forbidden Stories and several foreign media, analyzed in detail the images recorded by the two news agencies during the explosions, as well as satellite images of Gaza. This evidence, combined with the analysis of several weapons and sound experts, reveals that the explosions were the result of shellfire, most likely from Israeli army tanks.
For over four months, the Forbidden Stories collective coordinated an investigation involving 50 journalists from 13 international media outlets, including Le Monde, to document how Israeli forces have been deliberately targeting journalists since the start of their offensive in Gaza. Involving over 120 witnesses, ballistic expertise, satellite images and videos, the Gaza Project consortium has analyzed more than 100 cases of journalists and media staff killed in bombardments or drone strikes, in their homes, on the street or while reporting. Although Israel has formally denied intentionally targeting reporters, the investigation counted at least 14 journalists and media workers killed or injured in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and southern Lebanon while wearing a clearly identifiable blue "PRESS" vest.