Palestinian news photographer Yasser Murtaja, who was shot and killed on Friday during violent protests at the Gaza Strip-Israel border fence, was a Hamas operative, Israeli security officials told the Walla News website on Tuesday.
The officials said Murtaja had been active in the organization for years at a rank equivalent to captain, and said many senior Hamas officials attended Murtaja's funeral on Saturday.
Mutaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was one of some 20,000 Palestinians who participated in last Friday's second Hamas-orchestrated demonstration on the border, a week after 17 Palestinians – including 10 known Hamas members – were killed in similar protests that turned into violent clashes with Israeli security forces.
Witnesses said Murtaja was over 100 meters (330 feet) from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked "Press" and holding his camera, when he was shot in an exposed area under his armpit. He was rushed to Shifa hospital in Gaza, where he died of his wounds several hours later.
The IDF issued a statement saying, "The IDF does not intentionally target journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by IDF fire are not familiar to the military and are being investigated."
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday that the riots on the border were "a terrorist parade in which Hamas operatives disguised as civilians attempted to harm Israeli citizens. This man – a cameraman or not – if you launch drones over Israeli troops you are putting yourself in danger.
"We have seen dozens of cases in which Hamas used vehicles disguised as Red Crescent ambulances. They [Hamas operatives] also disguised themselves as journalists. We will not take any chances."
