Media outlets protest killing of journalists in Gaza

PARIS: More than 250 media outlets from more than 70 countries blacked out their front pages and website homepages, and interrupted their broadcasts on Monday to protest the killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

Reporters without Borders, which organised the protest, said 220 journalists have been killed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip in less than two years.

“At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed.

“This isn’t just a war against Gaza, it’s a war against journalism,” Reporters without Borders Director General Thibaut Bruttin said in a statement.

The Israeli military consistently emphasises that its attacks only target the Palestinian group Hamas, and that it is trying to spare civilians.

It has also repeatedly accused journalists in the Gaza Strip of belonging to Hamas or of being involved in the attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, which triggered the Gaza war.

After five journalists were among those killed in an attack last week, Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir expressed regret over civilian casualties.

Bruttin said journalists in Gaza were being deliberately targeted, killed, and defamed.

“Without them, who will alert us to the famine? Who will expose war crimes?

“Who will show us the genocides?” he asked.

He said Palestinian journalists must be protected and should be taken in by other countries if they want to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

– Bernama-dpa

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

Source link