Open letter of more than 30 world media following the targeted killing of journalists by Israel

The targeted killing of journalists by the Israeli regime in the Gaza war raised the voice of the heads of more than 30 news organizations, including CNN, Reuters and BBC, and they have signed an open letter demanding the protection of journalists in Gaza.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 94 journalists have been killed, 89 of them Palestinians, since the start of Israel’s military offensive on Gaza on October 7.

The American CNN news network announced on Friday local time by confirming and publishing parts of this open letter: “Journalists are civilians and the Israeli authorities must protect journalists as civilians according to international law.” Those responsible for any violation of this longstanding protection must be held accountable. Attacking journalists is like attacking the truth.”

UN experts have warned that “targeted attacks and the killing of journalists are war crimes.” The Israeli army claims that it “follows international law and takes all possible precautions to minimize civilian casualties.”

CNN added: Palestinian journalists and reporters are vital resources for the world media to cover the devastation caused by Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

CNN stated: There are few independent journalists in Gaza. The few foreign journalists who have been allowed into the area have mostly collaborated with the Israeli military and have had to submit their footage to the Israeli army for security review.

On October 15, 1402, on October 7, 2023, the Palestinian resistance groups launched a surprise operation called “Al-Aqsa Storm” from Gaza (southern Palestine) against the positions of the Israeli regime. On November 24, 2023, a four-day temporary ceasefire was established between Israel and Hamas, or a pause for the exchange of prisoners between Hamas and Israel.

This pause in the war continued for 7 days and finally on the morning of Friday, December 10, 2023, the temporary ceasefire ended and the Israeli regime resumed attacks on Gaza. In order to retaliate for the surprise attacks of the “Al-Aqsa storm” and to compensate for its defeat and stop the resistance operations, this regime has closed all the crossings of the Gaza Strip and is bombarding this area.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced in its latest statistics that the number of martyrs in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli attacks on October 7 (October 15) has reached 30,035 people, and 70,457 Palestinian citizens have also been injured.

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Source: IRNA