GAZA, (PIC)
The ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza for the past 94 days continues to target Palestinian journalists deliberately, much like all civilians and everything in Gaza has become a permissible target. Especially considering that there is no longer any safe place in Gaza. After the martyrdom of journalist Abdullah Iyad Breis, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate confirmed that the number of journalist martyrs and media workers in the Palestinian sector has risen to 106 since October 7th.
Meanwhile, the Government Media Office (GMO) said on Monday that the number of journalist martyrs has risen to 112 since the start of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, following the death of the journalist martyrs Abdullah Breis and Mohammed Abu Dar, who were killed in the ongoing Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip.
The scenes of pain deepen in the Palestinian media and journalism arena as journalists and media crews sacrifice their lives before the eyes of the world, with no one moving. It’s not just the journalists; their homes, families, and cars have become legitimate targets for Israel, indifferent to targeting them and committing further atrocities against them.
Social media users, human rights organizations, and world leaders have reacted to the martyrdom of journalist Hamza al-Dahduh and his colleagues, calling on the world to stop the hypocrisy, lies, and double standards. They emphasized that the number of journalist martyrs in Gaza has multiplied compared to those killed in World War II, without the international community paying attention to this issue.
They called on the world to intervene to stop the genocide against the people of Gaza, end the targeting of journalists, and implement international conventions and treaties that provide humanitarian and human rights guarantees to protect journalists and their families.
Condemnations and calls for holding the occupation accountable
The Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, based in Jordan, condemned the ongoing Israeli killing of journalists in Palestine, describing the deliberate and systematic targeting as a “massacre unprecedented in history.”
The Center emphasized that journalists who fall victim to the genocide war are not just numbers; each of them has a family and a story that deserves to be told. Their continued coverage despite all the crimes committed against them is evidence of their courage and sacrifice. History will remember what the journalists in Palestine did to show the truth and reveal the crimes of the Israeli occupation.
It reiterated its call for the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to act to prosecute Israel for committing war crimes by killing journalists and civilians in Palestine. It urged the formation of an international alliance of media freedom advocacy institutions to continue filing complaints until the perpetrators are brought to justice.
The Center also repeated the call on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to establish an independent commission to investigate the crimes committed against journalists and civilians.
In this context, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about the rising number of deaths among media workers in Gaza. The UN Commissioner called for a comprehensive and independent investigation into the killing of all journalists, including Hamza al-Dahduh and Mustafa Thuraya.
In the same context, the Journalists’ Syndicate Council decided to nominate journalist Wael al-Dahduh, the father of Hamza and whose family members were almost all killed in Israeli targeting, for the “Press Freedom” award in 2024 as a symbol of the resilience of Palestinian journalists after setting an example in sacrificing to convey the truth.
