Why it matters:
The move suggests U.S. contractors may have played a role in tracking journalist Mohamed Salama before his death, raising serious concerns about press freedom, foreign involvement in Gaza, and the safety of reporters.
- If aid centres are being used for intelligence gathering, it undermines humanitarian efforts and exposes whistleblowers and journalists to lethal risks.
The big picture:
Salama was killed alongside MEE reporter Ahmed Abu Aziz and three other journalists on Monday morning as they responded to an attack on Nasser hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. The two strikes killed 20 Palestinians overall, including medics and first responders.
What they're saying:
Days before, a source for one of Salama’s major investigations for MEE told him that they had been briefly detained at an aid distribution centre by U.S. security contractors guarding the site.
There, the source said, they had been interrogated about the identity of the reporter behind the story. Salama worked on the story anonymously for security reasons.
“The source would not have been in contact with me unless they thought something was deeply wrong,” Salama told colleagues at the time.
When asked if he felt safe knowing he was being pursued for his work, Salama replied: “We journalists are never safe in Gaza.”
Middle East Eye asked Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, the two U.S. security firms working at the aid distribution sites, whether they were involved in the source’s interrogation.
MEE also asked if their employees were passing intelligence to Israel on the identity of Palestinian journalists such as Salama.
They had not replied by the time of publication.
Go deeper:
Global Outcry Over Journalist Deaths in Gaza
Hossein Amiri - seyed mohammad kazemi
