The Israeli army targeted a vehicle carrying a news team from the Turkish public broadcaster TRT on Sunday in what it claimed was a "safe area" of Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, according to the channel.
TRT Arabi reporter Sami Barhoum and his team were shot at with long-barreled weapons, with five bullets hitting their vehicle. While there were no casualties, Barhoum sustained minor injuries.
"While we were on a field mission for the TRT network, we were directly shot at by Israeli forces in the northwest of Khan Younis," Barhoum said.
"We were on a field mission, and this car is marked for the press. Wearing protective gear and helmets is the only indication that we are journalists."
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş condemned the attack and extended his well-wishes to TRT. "Whatever Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his associates may do to cover up their crimes and evade the penalties imposed by international law, they will be held accountable for their actions sooner or later," he said.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz echoed these sentiments. "These attacks will not obscure the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the oppressed Palestinian people, which are etched into the collective memory of humanity.”
Türkiye's Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun also condemned the attack on the TRT crew, "who were directly targeted by Israeli snipers while trying to report that even the cemeteries in Gaza are full.”
Altun stated that Tel Aviv would be held accountable not only for its genocide crimes but also for its attacks and massacres against TRT and other journalists.
Several other Turkish officials also condemned the attack, including Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan, National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, and Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
