Yasser Mourtaja

Yaser (or Yasser) Murtaja (, 1987/1988 – 6 April 2018 ) was a Palestinian video journalist and photographer from the Gaza Strip.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, he was killed by Israeli security forces during the 2018 Gaza border protests. Murtaja was the co-founder of Ain Media Production Company, which produced video for several international media outlets. Murtaja struck up a close friendship with Bisan to help her cope with the trauma.

Ain Media, the company Murtaja co-founded has produced work for Al Jazeera, BBC, and Vice, among several other media companies. The company received a grant from USAID that the U.S. State Department said had been strictly vetted.

Murtaja worked as an assistant cameraman on the documentary film "Human Flow". He was also a videographer for Ai Weiwei's Journey of Laziz, a video installation shown in a temporary exhibit at The Israel Museum. Murtaja worked in the world of film with minimal institutional support and without a formal cinematic education.

In March 2018, under a photo of Gaza's port, Murtaja wrote: "I hope the day that I can take this image when I am in the sky instead of on the ground will come! My name is Yaser, I am 30 years old, live in Gaza City and I have never travelled before in my life!" He once briefly crossed into Egypt, but was turned around hours later because of security reasons in the Sinai.

Murtaja was married and had one child. Some protestors were lighting tires on fire, engulfing the area in thick black smoke. While he was more than away from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked "press", he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit. and the Palestinian health ministry, Murtaja was shot in the stomach by an Israeli sniper. On that day, 9 other Palestinians were killed, 1350 were injured, and 25 were in critical condition; and that approximately 400 of those injured were hit by live ammunition.

According to the Palestinian journalist syndicate, seven other Palestinian journalists were injured by the Israelis during that day's protest.

Funeral Hundred of colleagues and friends attended his funeral in Gaza City. His body was covered with a Palestinian flag, and his press jacket laid on the stretcher as it was carried through the streets of Gaza City. The drone he had used for shooting footage of Gaza filmed his funeral.

Investigation The Israeli Army announced in a statement on the Israeli Ynetnews website that the "circumstances in which journalists were hit, allegedly by IDF fire, are unknown to us and are being examined".

Reactions Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Secretary-General Christophe Deloire condemned Israel's disproportionate response to the protests and called for an independent investigation into the incident.

Israeli government The Israeli Defence Force issued the following statement: "The IDF uses means such as warnings, riot dispersal means, and as a last resort firing live rounds in a precise, measured way. The IDF does not intentionally fire on journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were hit, allegedly by IDF fire, are unknown to us and are being examined."

Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman suggested that Murtaja had flown a drone above soldiers when he was shot. He also suggested that Hamas men had dressed up as journalists. He said: "You don't know who is a photographer and who is not. Whoever employs drones above Israeli soldiers needs to understand he is endangering himself."

A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister's office has said that Murtaja was on the Hamas payroll and active in the Hamas "security apparatus’s work on a daily basis", holding a rank equivalent to captain.

According to Robert Fisk, "there was no evidence he [Murtaja] ever worked for or with Hamas".