GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — An Israeli air strike killed a journalist working with Al Jazeera on Monday and the military issued fresh calls to evacuate parts of Gaza’s north, as Israel pressed its renewed bombardment and ground operations in the Palestinian territory.

Gaza’s civil defense agency said an Israeli drone strike on Monday afternoon killed Hussam Shabat, near a petrol station in Beit Lahia.

Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for the agency, said air strikes had targeted more than 10 cars, including Shabat’s, in various parts of Gaza.

“Hussam Shabat, a journalist collaborating with Al Jazeera Mubasher, was martyred in an Israeli strike targeting his car in the northern Gaza Strip,” an alert from the Qatari broadcaster said, referring to its live Arabic channel.

AFPTV footage from the scene in Beit Lahia showed Palestinians gathering around the car, which had an Al Jazeera sticker on its windscreen. A body could be seen on the ground nearby.

Israel’s military on Tuesday said the journalist was a Hamas sniper. According to the United States-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel’s military in October accused Shabat and five other Palestinian journalists of being militants, which he denied.

Hundreds of people attended Shabat’s funeral held at Beit Lahia’s Indonesian Hospital, praying over his body, which still wore a press flak jacket.

The civil defense agency said a media worker from Islamic Jihad-affiliated Palestine Today TV, Muhammad Mansour, was killed in a separate air strike in Gaza’s south.

In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate called the deaths of Shabat and Mansour “a crime added to the record of Israeli terrorism.”

It said that more than 206 journalists and media workers had been killed since the start of the war, which was triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

The air strikes on Tuesday was followed by ground operations, after talks on extending a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas reached an impasse.

On Monday evening, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued “an early warning before a strike” in the northern area of Jabalia.

“Terrorist organizations are once again returning to and firing rockets from populated areas... For your safety, head south toward the known shelters immediately,” Adraee said on X, after issuing similar warnings for the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.

Israel’s military said it intercepted a total of three “projectiles” launched from the Gaza Strip on Monday evening. Both Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad said they had launched rockets towards Israel.

The military also said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, the sixth since the resumption of Gaza hostilities.