Explosion kills Italian video reporter and Palestinian interpreter in Gaza Strip

As negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis resumed in Cairo, Associated Press video journalist Simone Camilli and his Palestinian interpreter Ali Abu Afash were killed today while covering an attempt to defuse an Israeli missile in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahya. Their deaths brought to 15 the number of media personnel killed since Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip on 8 July. Nine of them have been killed in connection with their work. Camilli, an Italian citizen, was the first foreign journalist to be killed. Aged 35, Camilli, had worked for the Associated Press since 2005. Afash, 36, was a freelancer interpreter working for various media including the AP and Agence France-Presse. He also worked with the Gaza Centre for Media Freedom. They were killed when the missile exploded during the attempt to defuse it. They were doing a report on unexploded Israeli bombs and missiles and were accompanying a team of Palestinian engineers. The explosion killed at least three other people and seriously injured four others, including Hatem Moussa, a Palestinian photographer working for the AP.