Al Jazeera’s Arab cameraman was killed in a drone strike while covering the bombing of a school in the southern Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera Media Network says it will refer the killing of its cameraman Samer Abudaqa in Gaza to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a statement on Saturday, the Qatar-based broadcaster said it had instructed its legal team to “urgently” refer the case of the so-called “assassination” of Arab Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa to the court in The Hague.

Abuda was killed by a drone strike on Friday while reporting on an earlier bombing at a school in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip that was used as a shelter for displaced people.

“Al Jazeera Media Network reiterates its condemnation and condemnation of the crime of murder of its colleague Samer Abudaqa, who spent 19 years covering the ongoing conflict in the occupied Palestinian territories for the network,” the network’s statement said.

“In addition to the assassination of Abudaqa by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, the legal act will also cover recurring attacks on the network’s crews working and operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as cases of incitement against them.”

Targeting journalists is a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

The media network said it had set up a working group consisting of its international legal team and international legal experts to submit a file to the court’s prosecutor.

Al Jazeera’s Arabic correspondent Wael Dahdouh, who has his wife, son, daughter and grandson all rolled into one previous Israeli bombings – was injured in the same attack on Friday. He was hit in the upper arm by shrapnel and was able to reach Nasser Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries.

However, rescue teams were unable to immediately reach Abudaqa and others on the scene as they needed permission from the Israeli Defense Forces to bulldoze through the rubble to the site.

By the time rescuers arrived five hours after the attack, Abudaqa had already bled to death.

The 45-year-old was buried in the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, and dozens of mourners, including journalists, paid their last respects to him.

“We carry this human message, we carry this noble message,” Dahdouh said in his eulogy Mourners around him cried. “We will continue to carry out our duty with professionalism and transparency.”

Al Jazeera had previously filed one formal request to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the shooting of a veteran television reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022 when he reported on an Israeli military attack on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The evidence presented in the motion, filed in December 2022, includes a comprehensive six-month investigation into the network, which included the collection of witness statements and video footage.

The ICC acknowledged receipt but no further action was taken.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the ongoing conflict in Gaza is the deadliest for journalists on record. At least 64 reporters and media workers were killed in the ten weeks of bombing of the enclave.

CPJ also called on international authorities to “conduct an independent investigation into the attack to hold the perpetrators accountable.”