The targeting of Palestinian journalists persists amidst the ongoing aggression in Gaza since October 7 (for 75 days), involving incitements, killings, and arrests.
According to a government office in Gaza, the tally of Palestinian journalists killed in the Strip since October 7 has now reached 97 (this figure was updated on Tuesday, December 19, in the afternoon). Consequently, the number of journalists killed during the war in Gaza exceeds the total number of journalists and media employees killed worldwide in 2022 (which was 67 according to the Committee to Protect Journalists).
According to the committee, the war in Gaza has been the deadliest for journalists since the organization began collecting data in 1992.
Similarly, the International Federation of Journalists stated that the war in Gaza is the deadliest conflict for journalists since it began documenting journalist fatalities in 1990.
For its part, the United Nations Human Rights Office in Ramallah believes that "Gaza is the deadliest place for journalists and their families in the world."
The United Nations Human Rights Office in Ramallah stated, "Gaza is the deadliest place for journalists and their families in the world." In a published statement on December 14, the Office emphasized that journalists and media personnel, utilizing various tools including social media platforms, have been providing real-time information on the harrowing conditions faced by civilians in Gaza. The statement also highlighted, "Their dedication deserves tribute, but one by one, these eyes on the ground are going dark."
Despite statistics provided by international and local organizations in Gaza, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that his country "does not have any indications that Israel is deliberately targeting journalists who are trying to cover this war."
Israel is often described as the only (flawed) democratic state in the Middle East, according to the Democracy Index 2022, which is based on five factors, the electoral process and pluralism, government performance, political participation, democratic political culture, and civil liberties.
In the 2023 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, the country ranks 97th out of 180 countries.
Despite these circumstances, Israel is facing mounting pressure to cease its attacks on Palestinian journalists. Additionally, it faces multiple cases in international courts, accused of committing war crimes against them. The most recent case involves a complaint submitted by Reporters Without Borders to the International Criminal Court. This complaint concerns the deaths of eight Palestinian journalists amid the Israeli bombing of civilian areas in Gaza during the ongoing war.
The organization said in a statement that the attacks against Palestinian journalists in Gaza align with the international humanitarian law's definition of indiscriminate attacks, thus constituting war crimes according to Article 8.2b of the Rome Statute.
“Even if these journalists were victims of attacks targeting legitimate military objectives, as alleged by the Israeli authorities, the attacks nonetheless caused apparent excessive and disproportionate harm to civilians, and still amount to a war crime under this article,” the statement added.
Israel Accuses Palestinian Journalists of Having Prior Knowledge About Events on October 7
An Israeli non-governmental organization called “Honest Reporting” published a report on November 9 questioning the integrity and credibility of five Palestinian journalists working for international media outlets such as Reuters, Associated Press, The New York Times, and CNN. The report, reviewed by Misbar, claims that some journalists in the Gaza Strip had prior knowledge of the attack launched by Hamas on October 7.
It claims that the presence of journalists in the breached border area early in the morning raises 'serious ethical questions.' However, this information remains unproven, lacks a source, and has been refuted by the media outlets employing the journalists who documented the attack scenes.
The New York Times said that accusing its workers of knowing about the Hamas attacks or accompanying the perpetrators of the attack is “false and outrageous,” and stressed that “there is no evidence of these insinuations” made by the non-governmental organization regarding the independent photographer Youssef Masoud, who works for the newspaper.
The newspaper added that “it is reckless to make such allegations, which puts our journalists on the ground in Israel and Gaza at risk,” noting that it “extensively covered the October 7 attacks and the war, with integrity, impartiality, and a firm understanding of the complexities of the conflict.”
On November 10, Reporters Without Borders published a statement in which it denounced publications calling for the killing and targeting of journalists among Israeli politicians, following the Israeli organization’s report.
Reporters Without Borders highlighted that the Israeli authorities moved "from acknowledging that they cannot guarantee the protection of journalists in Gaza to explicitly threatening to kill journalists covering the conflict, based on suspicions that have so far proven to be mere unsubstantiated and baseless allegations."
Journalists Targeted in the West Bank and Jerusalem
While journalists are being targeted in the Gaza Strip, the occupation authorities are also carrying out restrictions and attacks on journalists in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the most recent of which might be their attack on Anadolu Agency photographer Mustafa Al-Kharouf while performing his duties in occupied East Jerusalem.
According to the agency, the photographer suffered “bruises and wounds to his face and body as a result of the severe blows he was subjected to, which required him to be transported by ambulance to Al-Maqasid Hospital in East Jerusalem.”
Following the incident, the Israeli police stated that “the Commander of the Border Guard in the Israeli Police ordered that the force members who appeared in the video of the attack on the photographer in Jerusalem be removed from any field activity.”
However, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir visited the border guard policeman who assaulted the Anadolu News Agency photographer in Jerusalem, offering support. He also promised in a post he shared on his X account to “return him to work as soon as possible.”
These incidents raise fears about impunity and lack of accountability for those involved in attacking journalists reporting the Palestinian narrative amidst difficult circumstances.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said that “the killing of journalists, their forced displacement from the north, and severe restrictions on movement have significantly hampered efforts to monitor, document and report on the situation in Gaza and on violations and abuses of international law.” It pointed out that the scarcity of information is due to power outages and internet connectivity problems resulting from raids by Israeli forces on major infrastructure, “in addition to the severe fuel shortage resulting from the tight restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on fuel imports into Gaza.”
In a previous article, Misbar discussed Israel's campaign against Palestinian journalists and content creators, and verified allegations published in an article for the Jerusalem Post newspaper, claiming without any evidence that there is a connection between these journalists and Hamas.
Read More
Israel Launches a Smear Campaign Against Palestinian Journalists and Content Creators
Masha Gessen: Controversy Over Gaza-Holocaust Comparisons and the Arendt Prize
