French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country demanded that Israel provide an explanation regarding the air raid, which targeted the "Evacuation Tower" in the Gaza Strip, which housed the offices of media institutions, in conjunction with continuing international condemnations of targeting journalists and their headquarters in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Macron added, at a press conference in Paris, that "the safety and protection of journalists and those who work for freedom of expression are a very important responsibility," adding, "Our embassy is working on this issue (the bombing of the Evacuation Tower), and we are awaiting clarifications from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

Macron's comments came in the wake of the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, demanded that Israel provide a "justification" for the bombing of the Evacuation Tower.

And Saturday, Israel bombed the evacuation tower, which includes the headquarters of the Al-Jazeera Media Network and the Associated Press in Gaza.

This led to the collapse of the entire 11-storey tower.

Rights activists called on the International Criminal Court to investigate the crime of targeting the residential tower that was demolished by Israel (Reuters)

Reporters Without Borders, an independent international press freedom organization, stated in a statement, Monday, that the offices of 23 international and local media organizations were destroyed as a result of the recent Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip.

War crime

The organization called on the International Criminal Court to conduct an investigation into the Israeli bombing, which targeted the Evacuation Tower as a "possible war crime."

The organization stated that it has strong reason to believe that "the deliberate targeting of media organizations by the Israeli army, and the deliberate destruction of their equipment, may constitute a violation of one of the court's laws."

She added that these Israeli attacks "reduce, if not neutralize, the ability of the media to inform the public."

The International Court demanded that the recent attacks be included in the investigation that began last March into Israeli practices in the Palestinian territories.

On March 3, the International Criminal Court (based in The Hague - Netherlands) announced the opening of an official investigation into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories.

Israeli allegations

In the same context, the Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders, Christophe Delaware, said in a tweet on Twitter, "What the Israeli army confirms that the alleged presence of Hamas in the buildings would make them legitimate military targets, is absolutely illegal," It also includes civilian homes and media offices. "

As of Tuesday morning, the number of victims of the continuous Israeli military aggression on Gaza a week ago increased to 213, including 61 children and 36 women, in addition to 1442 wounded, while the number of martyrs in the West Bank reached 24 and hundreds of wounded were wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Since April 13, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories has exploded, as a result of assaults by the Israeli police and settlers in the occupied city of Jerusalem, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, following Israeli efforts to evacuate 12 Palestinian families and hand them over to settlers.

Palestinian media reported that a Palestinian journalist was injured in the bombing, with debris and shrapnel flying to a distance of tens of meters.

The occupation army claimed that its warplanes "bombed the several-storey building, which contains military assets belonging to the intelligence offices of the Hamas terrorist organization.

Annoying development

The CEO of the "Associated Press", Gary Pruitt, described the strike as "an incredibly disturbing development," and said that 12 journalists and contractors working for the agency were in the building and were evacuated in time.

He added - in a statement - "We were shocked and panicked when we learned that the Israeli army would target and destroy the building, which houses the Associated Press office and the offices of other media organizations in Gaza .. The world will not know much about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today."

The US government said it had asked Israel to guarantee the safety of the journalists.

"We have communicated directly with the Israelis to ensure that the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a primary responsibility," White House spokeswoman Jane Saki said on Twitter.

A spokesman for the US State Department said - in a statement - that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Pruitt on Saturday evening, and "expressed his unwavering support for independent journalists and media institutions around the world."

Dr. Mustafa Souaq, Acting General Director of Al-Jazeera Media Network, described the attack as "brutal," and called for international action to hold Israel accountable and hold it accountable.

He added - in a statement - "The aim of this crime is to silence the free professional media and conceal the truth about what the people of Gaza are exposed to in terms of killing, destruction and brutality."