Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Wishah has been killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Gaza Strip, the broadcaster confirmed.

Wishah, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, was killed on Wednesday when a strike hit the car he was travelling in along Al Rashid Street, a main coastal road west of Gaza City.

The vehicle burst into flames following the attack, according to sources cited by Al Jazeera Media Network.

In a statement, Al Jazeera condemned the killing as a “heinous crime” and accused Israel of deliberately targeting journalists.

The network said Wishah, who joined in 2018, had been covering the war in Gaza since it began and described his death as “a deliberate and targeted crime intended to intimidate journalists and prevent them from carrying out their professional duties.”

The Gaza Government Media Office said at least 262 journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023, alleging a pattern of “systematic targeting” of media workers.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Al Khalili said Wishah’s killing on a major road underscored what he described as worsening conditions despite a US-brokered ceasefire.

He said Israeli violations had continued nearly six months after the truce took effect, including attacks on journalists.

The Gaza Government Media Office said Israeli forces had committed around 2,000 violations since the ceasefire began.

It called on international media organisations, including the International Federation of Journalists and the Arab Journalists Union, to condemn the killing and press for accountability.

The office also urged the international community to take action to protect journalists and prosecute those responsible in international courts.

According to Gaza health authorities, more than 72,000 people have been killed and over 171,000 injured in Gaza since October 2023.

Since the ceasefire took effect last October, at least 733 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded in subsequent attacks, the health ministry said.