Hussam al-Masri, 49, photojournalist

Hussam al-Masri, 49, was the first of five journalists killed by an Israeli tank at Nasser Hospital on August 25. Al-Masri was a photojournalist with Palestine TV and also a contractor for the Reuters news agency. 

He was operating a live video feed for Reuters showing the scene across Khan Younis from an external stairwell near the roof of Nasser Hospital when an Israeli tank fired at him. He had chosen that location because he thought it was the safest, according to a Reuters colleague. When rescuers and journalists rushed up the stairwell toward Masri, the tank fired a second time, killing four more journalists and many rescuers. 

Among the four journalists killed by the second strike was Mariam Dagga of the Associated Press. (See August 26 post.)

Masri's wife, Samaher, 39, has cancer and he had been trying to get her out of Gaza for treatment before he was killed. The couple had four children. Their house was destroyed and they were living in a tent. 

Masri was born and raised in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. He earned a diploma in journalism before starting work as a freelancer in 1998.

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