Khan Yunis, Gaza - Israel on Monday assassinated two Palestinian journalists and killed dozens of civilians as it continued its renewed campaign of mass destruction in Gaza.

Hossam Shabat, a 24-year-old who worked for Al Jazeera and the US news investigative reporting outlet Drop Site News, was murdered in a direct Israeli drone strike on his car.

Gaza's civil defense agency confirmed his death, as well as that of Muhammad Mansour, an employee of the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Palestine Today TV killed in an airstrike on his home in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

The territory's health ministry said attacks killed at least 57 people over a period of 24 hours, putting the total at close to 800 since Israel shredded a ceasefire agreement.

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In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate called the deaths of Shabat and Mansour "a crime added to the record of Israeli terrorism". "This horrific war crime aims to obscure the truth and terrorize all those who carry the message of free speech."

More than 206 journalists and media workers had been killed since October 7, 2023 – a number that the Committee to Protect Journalists says is unprecedented in its history of gathering data.

"The deliberate and targeted killing of a journalist, of a civilian, is a war crime," CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg told Al Jazeera, adding that the organization is investigating multiple Israeli assassinations that "would amount to a war crime."

Freely admitting to the assassination of Shabat, Israel claimed without evidence that he was a Hamas "sniper" and pointed to a kill list of Palestinian journalists it has accused of "terrorism."

Deliberately targeting media workers during a conflict is a war crime under international law.

In a statement, Drop Site News called Shabat "a tremendous young journalist who exhibited remarkable courage and tenacity as he documented the US-facilitated genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza."

It also shared his last message: "I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories – until Palestine is free."