Israel is still going strong with its bloody rampage against Palestinian civilians throughout Gaza, displaying no remorse at all for its actions. Every Gazan is seen by those in power in Tel Aviv as affiliated with Hamas, making them ‘legitimate’ targets. Israel’s extermination campaign has impacted every aspect of Palestinian society, but Gaza’s journalists have been disproportionately affected. The deadliest conflict for journalists in the modern era has been labeled as this one. According to the most recent data provided by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 108 journalists and media professionals, 103 of whom were Palestinian.
The Gaza Project, a joint venture between multiple media outlets and non-governmental organizations, has found that Israel has frequently singled out Palestinian journalists for attack. “Some within the IDF appear to have viewed journalists working in Gaza” for organizations connected to Hamas as “legitimate military targets,” according to the Guardian, which covered the project.
Israel had already been employing lethal tactics against journalists in the occupied territories prior to the start of the carnage in Gaza. One of the most well-known cases involves Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh of Al Jazeera;
In Jenin in 2022, the senior reporter was killed by Israeli forces while working in the field. Following the incident, the then-prime minister of Israel ostensibly suggested that Palestinian fighters had shot Abu Akleh. This idea was quickly refuted because it appeared that the reporter had been targeted by the Israelis. The Zionist state is especially furious with Al Jazeera because the broadcaster, which is based in Qatar, is not allowed to operate in Israel. Evidently, Israel is determined to portray its brutal campaign in Gaza as a “just war” and does not want other opinions to be heard.
Any public or private organization that purports to support media freedom must demand that Israel answer for the deaths of Palestinian journalists. The argument that the journalists were employed by Hamas is untenable because Israel has the authority to declare anyone, even minors, a Hamas agent and execute them without trial. The families of the murdered journalists must receive compensation, and those accountable for their killings must face justice, if and when a ceasefire is declared. Palestinian voices cannot be silenced by Israel.
