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Israel has vowed to completely eradicate Hamas.
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Experts have accused the country of intentionally targeting journalists to silence them.
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More than 100 Palestinian journalists have died in the conflict.
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A report claims Israel is responsible for the vast majority of journalists’ deaths in the conflict.
(NewsReady.com) – Journalists risk their lives every day in some of the most dangerous places on earth so they can report on important stories. The conflict has turned into the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history. Israel is reportedly responsible for many of those deaths.
Bloody War
The Guardian and Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based non-profit, investigated the deaths of Gazan journalists since the conflict began. According to a report, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is being accused of viewing journalists who are working for outlets affiliated with or controlled by Hamas as military targets.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 108 journalists died covering the Israel-Hamas conflict, as of July 3. The vast majority—103—of those killed were Palestinians. There were also two Israeli and three Labanese journalists killed. Thirty-two reporters have been reported injured and two more are missing.
Targeting Journalists?
Among those killed are 23 people who work for the al-Aqsa media network. The network is closely tied to Hamas and employs hundreds of people. A Palestinian journalist explained that Hamas, which oversees the government in Gaza, believes the media is important and uses it to get its message to the people. The IDF bombed the headquarters of al-Aqsa in 2018 and designated them a terrorist organization.
A senior IDF spokesperson said there’s “no difference” between working for the media network and belonging to the militant wing. The news organization often publishes anti-Israel, pro-Hamas content.
The statement from the Israeli official sounded alarm bells for some. Rutgers University law professor Adil Haque said the statement was “shocking” and showed a “complete misunderstanding or just a wilful disregard for international law.”
International humanitarian laws prohibit countries from killing members of the press. Journalists are also not allowed to work with officials to plan combat operations. International law doesn’t permit Israel to kill employees of al-Asqa just because they work for the company.
Foreign journalists are prohibited from entering Gaza to report on the conflict. That has left the duty to inform the world of what’s happening to the existing Palestinian journalists in the region. While they are trying to do that, Israel has dropped tens of thousands of bombs on the Gaza Strip.
The constant attacks from Israel have left dozens of journalists dead, according to the report. Organizations that advocate for freedom of the press believe the IDF is deliberately targeting reporters in order to silence them and stop their reporting.
The IDF has denied intentionally targeting members of the press.
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