Journalists across the world have been holding vigils and protests in solidarity with colleagues killed covering the Israel-Gaza war amid calls for an investigation into the deliberate targeting of reporters by the Israeli military.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) estimates that at least 190 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023.
Other groups put the death toll higher still, with UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric saying on Monday that 242 journalists have been killed.
“Israel’s media blackout strategy, designed to conceal the crimes committed by its army ... in the besieged and starving Palestinian enclave, must be stopped immediately,” said Thibaut Bruttin, the director general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which defends journalists and press freedom worldwide.
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RSF has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court and called for the European Union to suspend its trade agreement with Israel.
Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif (28) was among six journalists killed in a targeted Israeli air strike last Sunday.
The CPJ warned in advance that his life was in danger. Israel’s military claimed Mr al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas military cell, though it did not provide convincing evidence to support the allegation which was previously rejected by the journalist before his death.
On July 20th, Mr al-Sharif broke down in tears when a woman collapsed from hunger as he reported on widespread starvation in Gaza City.
Israel, which says it controls about 75 per cent of the Gaza Strip, is aiming to take full control of Gaza City, relocating its one million residents further south.
CPJ regional director Sara Qudah said Shaif’s reporting of significant developments made his journalism particularly vital.
“It is no coincidence that the smears against al-Sharif – who has reported night and day for Al Jazeera since the start of the war – surfaced every time he reported on a big development,” said CPJ regional director Sara Qudah. “Israel is murdering the messengers.”
In addition to Gaza, Israeli forces have been accused of targeted and killing journalists in neighbouring Lebanon.
International lawyers say deliberately targeting journalists is a war crime, regardless of any affiliation, unless the individual is directly participating in hostilities.
On Monday, Irish journalists held an emergency protest by the Spire in Dublin. On Wednesday, UK-based journalists held a vigil at Downing Street, while others were organised in cities including Istanbul, Barcelona, Damascus and Tel Aviv.
“They are burying journalists to bury the truth,” read one sign in Tel Aviv. “You only target journalists when the truth is your enemy,” read another.
The Israeli military said it “takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians, including journalists. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists as such ... The IDF directs its strikes only towards military targets and military operatives.”
It claimed that “terrorists” have disguised themselves as journalists.
Israel bars foreign reporters from Gaza, apart from rare and controlled trips with the Israeli military.
A recent petition, organised by the Freedom to Report group and signed by hundreds of international journalists, said it is vital to “acknowledge the extraordinary work of Palestinian journalists inside Gaza”.
“Despite unimaginable danger, loss, and now starvation, they continue to document the war with extraordinary courage and professionalism,” the petition states.
It said that not allowing international journalists into Gaza “is the very playbook of authoritarianism: control the narrative, silence independent voices and sever the link between reality and public understanding.”
