Muhammad Tahami Abdel Salam Al-Salhi (محمد تهامي عبد السلام الصالحي)

• Death: Muhammad Tahami Abdel Salam Al-Salhi (محمد تهامي عبد السلام الصالحي) was shot dead on October 7, 2023, reportedly while documenting militants from the Gaza Central Sector in the al-Bureij area, who had breached the Gaza-Israel security barrier and infiltrated into Israel that day.
• Journalistic Association: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) identified Muhammad Al-Salhi as a photojournalist for the Fourth Authority (السلطة الرابعة) news agency. This claim was repeated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which published a letter from Mounir Anastas, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the State of Palestine to UNESCO, listing him as a photojournalist casualty and accusing the “Israeli occupying army” of “deliberately targeting journalists with no constraints or consequences.” According to information available on his Facebook page, he also worked as a photographer at the Malaysian Qur’anic School (المدرسة القرآنية الماليزية) and served as a public relations officer for the Hamas-affiliated Dar Al-Qur’an Al-Karim wal-Sunnah (دار القرآن الكريم والسنة).
• Militant Affiliation: We uncovered video clips of Muhammad Al-Salhi documenting the violent events of October 7th in the border area east of al-Bureij. Contrary to claims, he was not wearing a press vest or a helmet. The inscription on his gravestone reads: “Muhammad Tahami Al-Salihi was martyred in the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023.”

Note 1: The IFJ included Muhammad Al-Salhi in its 2023 “killed list” report.

Note 2: In June 2021, he received an award from Hamas for his media coverage during the Battle of the Sword of Jerusalem (معركة سيف القدس), as referred to by Palestinian militant groups. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) designated the same conflict as “Operation Guardian of the Walls.”