"Exclusive: US contractors in Gaza pursued MEE journalist before his killing", 27 August 2025

US contractors at a Gaza aid centre interrogated a source of Middle East Eye journalist Mohamed Salama seeking information about his identity and whereabouts before he was killed, MEE can reveal.

Salama was killed alongside MEE reporter Ahmed Abu Aziz and three other journalists on Monday morning as they responded to an attack on Nasser hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. The two strikes killed 20 Palestinians overall, including medics and first responders.

Days before, a source for one of Salama’s major investigations for MEE told him that they had been briefly detained at an aid distribution centre by US security contractors guarding the site.

There, the source said, they had been interrogated about the identity of the reporter behind the story. Salama worked on the story anonymously for security reasons.

“The source would not have been in contact with me unless they thought something was deeply wrong,” Salama told colleagues at the time...

Middle East Eye asked Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, the two US security firms working at the aid distribution sites, whether they were involved in the source’s interrogation.

MEE also asked if their employees were passing intelligence to Israel on the identity of Palestinian journalists such as Salama.

They had not replied by the time of publication...

Middle East Eye asked the GHF and Israeli military for comment. The GHF called the allegation that the source was interrogated at one of its sites "absurd and completely false".

Israeli media tells a different story

Since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began 22 months ago, Salama has contributed video and written reports for Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera that have attracted international attention...

The Israeli military said that Golani Brigade troops were targeting a camera used by Hamas, providing no evidence or explanation for the second strike 15 minutes after the first...