According to a report by Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, a Palestinian imam and religious radio presenter was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the southern Gaza Strip while reportedly preparing a media report about Quran memorisation programmes, Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
Mohammed Abdul Aziz al-Najjar, 38, was killed in the strike in the Al-Mawasi area of Al-Qarara, northwest of Khan Younis, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs and a medical source at Nasser Hospital.
Al-Najjar served as an imam and also worked as a producer and presenter for Quran Radio, a station affiliated with Gaza’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.
Ikrami al-Mudallal, the ministry’s media director, said al-Najjar was targeted while carrying out his professional duties and preparing material concerning Quran memorisation.
The medical source at Nasser Hospital said al-Najjar’s body and another person who suffered moderate injuries were taken to the hospital following the strike.
The Ministry of Endowments mourned al-Najjar, describing him as a religious and media worker who carried out his duties with dedication.
Al-Najjar was also the imam of Ibad al-Rahman Mosque in Khuza’a, eastern Khan Younis, an area that is currently under Israeli military control, according to al-Mudallal.
His death was reported amid continued Israeli military activity in Gaza despite the ceasefire that began in October 2025. Anadolu Agency reported that several other Palestinians were killed in separate incidents across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Palestinians were reportedly killed when an Israeli strike hit a vehicle towing a passenger cart in the Tel al-Hawa area of southern Gaza City.
A Palestinian woman was also reported killed in an airstrike on a house on Al-Wahda Street, while her husband was critically injured.
The latest violence comes despite the ceasefire, which has significantly reduced the intensity of the war but has not brought an end to deadly incidents in the enclave.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll since the beginning of the war had reached 74,018 by September 27, while more than 175,000 people had been injured.
The ministry said 1,417 Palestinians had been killed and 4,964 injured in reported Israeli violations since the October 2025 ceasefire took effect.
The casualty figures are issued by Gaza health authorities and are not independently verifiable in every individual case because of the continuing restrictions and conditions surrounding access to the territory.
The scale of physical destruction in Gaza also remains severe.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing UN Satellite Centre assessments, reported in August that about 201,290 structures approximately 82% of all structures in Gaza had sustained damage as of June 16, 2026. More than 134,000 structures were assessed as destroyed.
The damage has left millions of Palestinians facing severe housing, water, sanitation and humanitarian challenges. OCHA reported earlier this month that most of Gaza’s estimated 2.1 million residents remained in overcrowded displacement sites and faced deteriorating water and sanitation conditions.
COURTESY: NewsNight24
