WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: ISRAEL TARGETS, SILENCES GAZA JOURNALISTS

GAZA CITY (Palestine), May 3 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- As the world marks World Press Freedom Day, Palestinian journalists in Gaza continue to carry out their professional and humanitarian duties in reporting on the genocidal war by Israel since Oct 7, 2023, despite being targeted with bombings, sniper fire, and arrests.

Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported that it is taking place amid a deafening silence from the international community and global institutions concerned with the rights of journalists, a silence that, according to governmental and human rights bodies, encourages Israel to continue its crimes.

Since the beginning of the assault, Israel has killed 212 Palestinian journalists, including 13 women, in what the Gaza Government Media Office has described as “deliberate assassinations.”

The figure represents the highest recorded global death toll for journalists since records began in 1992, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights on April 26.

Human rights organisations and UN bodies frequently condemn the targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip but fail to take action to protect them or guarantee their right to media freedom.

As of April 25, the Israeli army has killed 212 journalists in Gaza as part of its assault on civilians.

It reported the Government Media Office in Gaza said in a statement that all of these killings occurred since Oct 7, 2023.

The office’s director, Ismail Al-Thawabta, told Anadolu that the victims include local journalists, news agency reporters, and correspondents for international channels.

He added that Israel also wounded 409 journalists, arrested 48 and assassinated 21 prominent media activists known for their work on social media.

Thawabta noted that Israel has targeted the families of journalists as well as killing members of 28 media families and destroying 44 journalist homes -- partially or completely.

He described the systematic targeting of journalists as a “deliberate crime that rises to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” aimed at “silencing the truth and obstructing documentation of the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing” against Palestinian civilians.

Thawabta condemned Israel’s killing of journalists, bombing of media offices and restrictions on coverage as “flagrant violations” of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, which clearly demand the protection of journalists in conflict zones.

Thawabta said the media sector in Gaza has suffered an estimated preliminary losses of around US$400 million since the assault began more than 19 months ago.

The losses include the destruction of media institutions and equipment, including television stations, radio channels, news agencies and media training centres.

Despite the destruction and the killings, 143 media institutions continue to operate in Gaza.

Since the start of the war, Israeli forces have also targeted media broadcast vehicles, transmitters, dozens of cameras and vehicles that were clearly marked “PRESS.”

On April 26, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights accused Israel of “deliberately” killing journalists in Gaza to intimidate them and prevent them from reporting the reality of war.

The independent rights group said the escalation in journalist killings leaves no doubt that “the intent is to silence the truth and obscure the crimes” against civilians in Gaza.

It reported that most journalists were killed in airstrikes, while others were shot by snipers.

The centre said the deliberate killing of journalists constitutes a “war crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC),” in accordance with Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

World Press Freedom Day was established by a UN resolution on Dec 20, 1993, and is commemorated annually on May 3.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU