Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for AFP news agency, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a journalist with Al Jazeera television network, were killed while they were travelling in a car, the ministry and medics said.

Hamza's father Wael al-Dahdouh is Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief who was recently wounded in a strike after his wife and two other children were killed in Israeli bombardment in the initial weeks of the war.

Thuria, in his 30s, had worked with Agence France-Presse since 2019 and had also worked with other media networks.

By December 31, at least 77 journalists and media workers had been killed since the October 7 start of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Of those killed, 70 were Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese.

The Hamas government media office said in a statement that "we condemn this heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation army in a bid to intimidate and prevent media coverage".

AFP has asked the Israeli army for comment. The military replied by requesting the geographic "coordinates" of the strike.