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The sound of protesters marching through Ramallah in the West Bank, after Israel's military confirmed it had targeted and killed Al Jazeera journalist, Anas Al Sharif in Gaza.
The IDF alleges Mr Al Sharif was the leader of a Hamas militant cell - a claim rejected by Al Jazeera, a broadcaster funded by the Qatari government, and denied by Mr Al Sharif before his death.
The 28 year old journalist was killed in an airstrike along with four colleagues, and two other people.
Head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Nasser Abu Bakr, was among those protesting against the killings in Ramallah.
“Today is a black day in the history of Palestinian journalism, a bloody day in the history of Palestinian journalism. We want the world to begin real, concrete measures against the criminal Israeli occupation state that carries out killings without restraint against Palestinian journalists. The number of martyrs has reached more than 238 journalists over 23 months — meaning more than 10 journalists per month are killed by the occupation, martyred by Israeli occupation rockets and bullets.”
Medical officials at al Shifa Hospital say Mr Al Sharif was killed while sheltering in a media tent outside the hospital in Gaza City, along with Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Qreiqeh, and Al Jazeera camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.
Local medics say a sixth journalist, local freelance reporter Mohammad Al- Khaldi, was also killed in the strike.
Soon after the attack, Al Jazeera said Mr Al Sharif had left a final message to be posted in the event of his death.
The note, published on his social media account, reads in part:
“This is my will and my final message. If these words of mine reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice...I have lived the pain in all of it details, and I have repeatedly tasted pain and loss. Despite this, I have never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation. May God be a witness against those who remained silent and accepted our killing."
The airstrike occurred hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended a planned military takeover of Gaza City, and said he had directed the military to “bring in more foreign journalists” to Gaza.
Throughout the war, Israel has not allowed international journalists into Gaza to report freely.
Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti says the killing was another attempt by Israel to intimidate the press and silence the truth.
“They will fail in that. However, this timing is connected to what the occupation is preparing, a full-scale invasion of Gaza City, along with dangerous ethnic cleansing and genocide. They do not want the image of these crimes to reach the world, but they will fail thanks to the courage and bravery of these journalists. This assassination does not frighten them, nor will it ever frighten them.”
It's the first time during the 22-month war that Israel’s military has swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike.
Director of Al Jazeera English Salah Negm says the admission from the government makes clear its blatant targeting of journalists.
"I think Israel's government doesn't have any shame in admitting that it's targeting journalists, who are conveying what's happening in Gaza. Yesterday Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in a press conference and said he's going to guarantee the security of international journalists to go inside Gaza and report whatever is happening there. I don't think anyone will feel that he is going to be secure in these hands."
The United Nations has condemned the attack, and has called for an independent and impartial investigation into the killings.
The UN Secretary general's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, says these latest killings highlight the extreme risks journalists continue to face when covering the conflict.
"We strongly feel that journalists provide an essential service to the world, to policy makers, in order to chronicle what is happening in this conflict and any other conflict. And what we're seeing here in this conflict is a lack of access to journalists, right? Because the Israelis say something, Hamas says something, we say something, and the only way for people to actually know what is going on the ground is for journalists to be able to do their work freely."
Hours after hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City attended the funeral for those killed, Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks in areas east of Gaza City.
The airstrikes come after the Israeli Security Cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza city, in an expanded military operation that has drawn condemnation from international leaders, as well as mounting criticism from within Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has said it's the only option to defeat Hamas, and that he expects the operation to begin "fairly quickly."
Among those condemning the action and calling for an end to the nearly 22-month war is Ami Ayalon, former head of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service.
He says the war can't be won by military means.
"Now is the time for diplomacy and statesmanship... But again, Netanyahu doesn't care about ending the war. It is against his interest because he created a coalition that is led by Jewish radicalism and their dream is, you know, to annex the West Bank, to annex Gaza, and to create settlements."
The ongoing conflict escalated rapidly on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are alive.
Israel's offensive since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, and humanitarian organisations say famine is unfolding, with the number of deaths from starvation climbing to 217*.
As Israel's expanded military operation looms, the UN has once again urgently called for Israel to allow aid to enter through all crossings and via all available corridors.
"Our humanitarian colleagues report in an especially disturbing update today that the Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that the number of children who have died from malnutrition since October 2023 has now surpassed 100. The World Food Program said more than a third of the population is not eating for days at a time and acute malnutrition is spiking with over 300,000 children at severe risk."
