International and local press bodies have expressed their concern over the killing of 22 journalists in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, calling for justice and an immediate investigation into the deaths.
At least 22 journalists were among more than 4,600 dead in Israel and Palestine since the war started on October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In a recent media statement, the CPJ reported that of the 22 confirmed dead, 17 journalists were Palestinians, three were Israelis and two were Lebanese. Eight journalists were reported injured while three others were reported missing or detained.
CPJ Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator, Sherif Mansour said in a statement emphasising journalists were civilians doing professional and important work during war times and must not be targeted by warring parties. Journalists across the region made great sacrifices to cover this heartbreaking conflict. All parties must take steps to ensure their safety, he said.
In the ongoing Gaza conflict, more journalists have been killed during the past two weeks than since 2001 in the territory, Mansour said. Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) as well as the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) condemned the killings and attacks on journalists. Both the bodies called for an immediate investigation into their deaths by a global forum.
Lahore Press Club (LPC) general secretary this connection told APP here that reporters in Gaza are facing deadly weapons in the line of duty, adding many journalists under internet outages and Israeli siege, have also lost their offices, homes, and family members. Gaza health officials have confirmed that so far, Israel’s airstrikes had killed 4,600 people and wounded more than 12,700, since October 7. Saeed Jahan, alias Lala Asad Pathan, finance secretary, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), told APP that millions across the world were counting on reporters in the region to provide them with accurate information about the conflict.
Journalists, like all civilians, must be respected and protected, he said adding that the shooting of the reporters in Palestine is among the numerous killings of media workers worldwide, he added. To a query, Pathan expressed his concern over the killing of journalists and said that maintaining freedom of the press is essential for democracy and information or knowledge dissemination. Journalists must be able to safely complete their jobs, he said adding, but instead of protection, media workers worldwide are increasingly facing danger and even death, particularly in conflict zones like Palestine and in some other regions and countries around the world. Meanwhile, CPJ published descriptions of the journalists who have been killed, injured, detained, and missing so far in the ongoing war, that include, Ahmed Shehab, a journalist for Sowt Al-Asra Radio (Radio Voice of the Prisoners).
Shehab was killed in an Israeli airstrike on October 12 that struck his house in the northern Gaza Strip, along with his wife and three children, according to a CPJ statement. Salam Mema, a freelance journalist and head of the Women Journalists Committee WJC) at the Palestinian Media Assembly, was confirmed dead a day later on October 13. The body of Mema was recovered from the rubble three days after her home in the Jabalia camp, situated in the northern Gaza Strip, was struck by an Israeli airstrike on 10 October, CPJ said. Likewise, on October 13, an Israeli airstrike also killed Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah in Lebanon. However, most recently, Khalil Abu Aathra, a video journalist affiliated with Al-Aqsa TV, was killed by an Israeli airstrike.
