The IPI global network strongly condemns today’s killings of five Palestinian journalists by the Israeli military, and calls on Israel to immediately cease all attacks and violence against journalists in Gaza. We urgently renew our call on the international community to use all possible diplomatic means to pressure Israel to ensure the safety of journalists, as civilians, in line with international humanitarian law.
The five journalists were killed in a “double-tap” Israeli strike targeting Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, which killed at least 20 people. The journalists killed all worked or freelanced for international media outlets, including Hossam al-Masri, a cameraman with Reuters, Mariam Abu Daqa, a freelance photojournalist with the Associated Press, and Mohammed Salama, a camera operator for Al Jazeera. Freelance journalists Ahmad Abu Aziz and Moas Abu Taha were also killed, while several other journalists were injured in the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed the strike was a “tragic mishap” and said military authorities are conducting an investigation. Israeli attacks on journalists have escalated in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Israel killed six journalists in a targeted strike aimed at Al Jazeera’s Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent correspondent whose reporting on the conflict drew international attention.
Israel has largely barred international journalists from reporting independently inside the Strip since the start of the conflict. This means international outlets have relied on local freelance journalists and media workers to report on what is happening there. Meanwhile, local journalists inside Gaza face displacement, starvation, and extreme violence. In July, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, BBC News and Reuters released a joint statement warning that their journalists in Gaza are experiencing starvation.
Last week, 29 member states of the Media Freedom Coalition issued a statement calling for access to the Strip by foreign press and for Israel to ensure the safety of local journalists working inside Gaza. In response to this latest attack, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to respect international law, emphasizing the important role of independent media in covering “the reality of the conflict.” Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, demanded an investigation and access for international media to Gaza, while the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary David Lammy also condemned the attack, calling for the protection of journalists.
“We are appalled and shocked to see Israel continue to kill journalists with no accountability, as the world watches. It is critical for the international community to step up and take concrete action to ensure the safety of Gaza’s remaining journalists,” said IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen. “As more journalists in Gaza are killed, fewer remain to carry on their work, which means we know less about what is actually happening on the ground.”
“The unabated killing of journalists during the course of this conflict has grave implications for journalists not only in Gaza – who have sacrificed so much and endured such unimaginable violence to cover this war – but also for journalists’ safety all over the world,” Griffen added. “It tells journalists everywhere – inside conflict zones and out – that they can be killed or targeted with full impunity and the international community will do little or nothing at all to protect them.”
Nearly 200 journalists have been killed over the course of the 22-month war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Independent investigations have found that in some of these cases, the journalists were deliberately targeted by the Israeli military. Israel has also openly claimed responsibility for the killing of multiple journalists, asserting baseless claims that they were terrorists working for Hamas.