GAZA, (PIC)
On the occasion of the Palestinian Journalist’s Loyalty Day, voices rise in appreciation of the efforts of journalists in covering the Israeli aggression and demanding their protection from the deliberate Israeli targeting that has claimed the lives of 106 journalists.
Hamas Movement said in a statement on Sunday that the Palestinian Journalist’s Loyalty Day is an important national occasion, “recognizing and appreciating these truth guardians who stand, and have stood, today in the heroic battle of our people (Al-Aqsa Flood). They are united with their people in the Gaza Strip.”
They pointed out that journalists experience the same pain, hopes, and aspirations, and endure the same suffering, oppression, killings, and displacement due to the Israeli Nazi aggression that has been ongoing for nearly three months.
In addition to the assassination of 106 journalists, Israeli forces have injured dozens of other journalists and killed dozens of journalists’ families in an attempt to intimidate and silence their voices.
The journalists, with their cameras and reporting, confront the Israeli war machine, which has made them, their families, their homes, and their residences targets of terror and revenge, ultimately suppressing the voice of truth and concealing the image of its crimes and massacres.
Hamas said that this Nazi Israeli entity has become the most dangerous enemy of journalists in Palestine because they have been revealing its crimes, terrorism, and aggression against the Palestinian people, land, and sanctities. Their credibility, objectivity, and professionalism in narrating and documenting this ongoing conflict have become the most truthful and influential, locally, regionally, and internationally, despite the Israeli relentless attempts to suppress, distort, and extinguish their voice, the Movement added.
It emphasized that 106 journalists in the Gaza Strip have fallen during the 86 days of continuous Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip while in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the Nazi occupation army continues to suppress journalists, assault them physically, abuse and detain them, prevent them from working, and target them on semi-daily basis.
And on this day, with all the meanings of pride and honor, Hamas recalled the honorable journey of the Palestinian journalistic and media family throughout the history of the Palestinian struggle. They have always been at the forefront of those standing for the rights of the Palestinian people and the justice of the Palestine cause, enhancing their steadfastness and national identity, and exposing the crimes and aggressive schemes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian land, people, and Islamic and Christian sanctities, Hamas added.
Hamas also remembered the souls of the martyrs of truth and free speech, and prayed to Allah for the swift recovery of the wounded, freedom for the prisoners and detainees, and sent sincere greetings and appreciation to all the male and female Palestinian journalists, inside and outside Palestine.
Hamas urged them to continue their effective and influential journalistic role and mission in supporting the resilience and legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people and called on all human rights and humanitarian institutions to continue exposing the systematic crimes of killing and arresting Palestinian journalists and to exert pressure on this occupation to protect them in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, Ismail Thawabteh, the Director General of the Government Media Office, affirmed that the Israeli occupation’s crimes of killing, targeting, and arresting Palestinian journalists will not break their will but will increase their dedication until victory and liberation.
During a gathering organized by journalists at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thawabteh said: “We commemorate this dear anniversary with heavy hearts. This is the anniversary of the Palestinian Journalist’s Loyalty Day, which falls on December 31 of each year. He added: “This national occasion reminds us of our responsibility and duty towards our just Palestinian cause and the great injustice suffered by our Palestinian people.”
He conveyed his utmost respect, admiration, and appreciation to all Palestinian journalists and media professionals, “the knights of words and truth, who succeeded in exporting the authentic Palestinian narrative and shattering the false narrative of the Israeli occupation. They made the whole world realize that the occupation is misguided, and its leaders have stained their hands with blood and crimes. These honorable journalists exposed the racism and criminality of the occupation before the whole world. They defended Palestine, and among them were martyrs, wounded, and prisoners.”
