Journalists stage a sit-in in Ramallah to denounce the Israeli aggression against press crews in Gaza (Al Jazeera)
30 news organizations around the world sent a message calling for the protection of journalists in the Gaza Strip, where the victims of journalism there have risen to 122 martyrs, since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Strip on October 7, according to statistics from the Government Information Office in the Strip.
CNN reported that more than 30 news organizations signed - yesterday, Thursday - an open letter expressing their solidarity with journalists working in the Gaza Strip, and calling for their protection and ensuring their freedom to do their work.
The signatories to the letter, which was coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists, include international news agencies Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, and Reuters, in addition to prominent media outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, and Haaretz. Israeli.
The letter stated, "For about 5 months, journalists and media workers in Gaza, who are the only source of field reports from within the Palestinian Strip, have been working in unprecedented conditions."
She noted that at least 89 journalists and media workers in Gaza were killed in the war, according to figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The letter - which was also signed by the Union of International Broadcasters and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers - stated that journalists are civilians and the Israeli authorities must protect them “as non-combatants under international law.”
She continued, "Those responsible must be held accountable for any violations of this protection."
Continuous invitations
This message comes after continuous calls from various media outlets urging countries around the world to intensify their pressure on Israel and Egypt to allow international media access to the besieged Strip, and to pressure the parties to the conflict to protect journalists as civilians.
The British Financial Times newspaper considered in one of its editorials that the number of media workers who were killed in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip is more than the number recorded in any other country in one year, considering deliberately targeting journalists a “war crime.”
It is noteworthy that Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Abu Omar and photographer Ahmed Matar were bombed by an Israeli drone during their press coverage in the Qaizan al-Najjar area, south of the Gaza Strip, on February 13, which immediately led to the amputation of the reporter’s right leg, while the photographer was seriously injured.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies