major damage after explosion at AFP office, Israel says it hit ‘nearby’

Journalists targeted by Israel in the Gaza Strip? The day after the explosion which seriously damaged the AFP office in the Palestinian territory, the Israeli army, which has been shelling the Palestinian territory for several weeks, claimed on Friday November 3 to have carried out a strike “proximity” from the agency office without having “no way” targeted this building.

AFP is the only one of the three major international news agencies to have a “live video” transmitting images live to Gaza City, and this was not interrupted despite the damage observed on Friday by an AFP collaborator.

According to the latter, who was able to visit the site on Friday morning, an explosive projectile appears to have entered from east to west, horizontally, into the technician’s office located on the top floor of the 11-story building, destroying the wall. opposite the window and causing significant damage in the two adjacent rooms. The blast from the explosion damaged the doors of other rooms on the same level, and punctured water tanks located on the roof.

Army denies targeting AFP

“It is very important to emphasize that the building was not targeted in any way by the IDF and we have no indication that a target was missed in this strike,” declared an Israeli army spokesperson, before adding, without further details: “There was an IDF strike nearby which may have caused debris.”

“The AFP condemns in the strongest terms this strike on its office in Gaza City. The location of the office is known to all and has been recalled several times in recent days, precisely to prevent such an attack and allow us to “We can continue to bear witness in images on the ground. The consequences of such a shot would have been devastating if the AFP team on site had not evacuated the city.” said AFP CEO Fabrice Fries.