By Black Star News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a press advocacy group based in New York City, has stated that we are now in the “deadliest period for journalists”—largely, because of the targeted killings of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, which was underscored by Israel’s targeted murders of six journalists on Aug. 10.
Israel’s killing of Palestinian journalists has been largely ignored by international organizations—and by Western media companies, like the New York Times.
The murders of the journalists has led to protests all over the world, especially as global citizens hold demonstrations against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. On Wednesday, some of the more notable protests took place in Cape Town, South Africa; Manila, the Philippines; and in London. On Tuesday, in New York City, protesters demonstrated outside of the New York Times.
The assassinated journalists, killed on August 10th, are: Anas al-Sharif, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent; Mohammed Qreiqeh, Al Jazeera correspondent; Ibrahim Zaher, Al Jazeera camera operator; Moamen Aliwa, freelance camera operator; Mohammed Noufal, Al Jazeera camera operator; Mohammad al-Khaldi, freelance journalist.
The primary target of the killings was Anas al-Sharif, who the Israeli government dubiously claimed was working with Hamas. However, this accusation has been roundly rebuked by international organizations. Al-Sharif was a reporter who was highly recognized for his courageous reporting from the killing fields of Gaza.
On Tuesday, two United Nations rapporteurs denounced Israel’s smearing of Anas al-Sharif saying, “It is outrageous that the Israeli army dares to first launch a campaign to smear Anas Al-Sharif as Hamas in order to discredit his reporting and then kill him and his colleagues for speaking the truth to the world.”
Nearly 300 journalists have been killed since the war against Palestinians started, after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Gypsy Guillén Kaiser, advocacy and communications director for CPJ, in responding to Israel’s claims said, “The pattern of labeling journalists as terrorists before killing them, effectively granting themselves the authority to extinguish these journalists, has become a specialty of the Israel Defense Forces.”
Anthony Bellanger, the general secretary of the Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), said, “Unlike other conflicts in the past, where journalists were respected and often even welcomed to document the conflict because there were few or no means of communication, today in Gaza, journalists are very often targeted by the Israeli army.”
The murders have been condemned by UNESCO’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, who said, “I condemn the killing of journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Al-Khaldi and call for a thorough and transparent investigation.”
The Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for action against Israel. RSF’s Director General Thibaut Bruttin condemned the Israeli government’s murders of these journalists.
“RSF strongly condemns the killing of six media professionals by the Israeli army, once again carried out under the guise of terrorism charges against a journalist. One of the most famous journalists in the Gaza Strip, Anas al-Sharif, was among those killed. The Israeli army has killed more than 200 journalists since the start of the war. This massacre and Israel’s media blackout strategy, designed to conceal the crimes committed by its army for more than 21 months in the besieged and starving Palestinian enclave, must be stopped immediately. The international community can no longer turn a blind eye and must react and put an end to this impunity. RSF calls on the UN Security Council to meet urgently on the basis of Resolution 2222 of 2015 on the protection of journalists in times of armed conflict in order to stop this carnage.”
But will international bodies, like the United Nations, finally take decisive action to stop the continued targeted killings of Palestinian journalists, in this “deadliest period for journalists?”
To Support our independent investigative journalism contributions are welcome via Cashapp to: $BlackStarNews
Also support Black Star News by buying merch from our brand new Black Star Store!
