Israel’s killing of six Gaza journalists draws global condemnation

The Israeli military’s killing of six Palestinian journalists, including an Al Jazeera cameraman, in Gaza has caused global condemnation, with the Al Jazeera Media Network accusing Israel of “assassinating journalists as part of a systematic campaign to silence the truth”.

The Israeli military bombed Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday, killing five journalists, including Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama.

In total, 21 people were killed in a “double-tap” strike – one missile hitting first, then another moments later, as rescue workers and journalists arrived – on southern Gaza’s main medical facility.

The attack comes as Israel has intensified its offensive to seize Gaza City, the main urban centre in the enclave of 2.3 million people, despite a famine being declared last week.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims the attack was a “tragic mishap”.

Israeli forces killed another journalist in a separate incident in Khan Younis later on Monday, bringing the death toll of journalists to six.

Here are some reactions to the latest slaughter of media workers in the enclave:

Al Jazeera Media Network
In a statement on Monday, Al Jazeera says it condemns “this horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces, who have directly targeted and assassinated journalists as part of a systematic campaign to silence the truth”.

“The blood of our martyred journalists in Gaza has not yet dried before the Israeli occupation forces committed another crime against Al Jazeera cameraman Mohammad Salama, together with three other photojournalists,” the network says, referring to Israel’s killing, barely two weeks prior, of renowned Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, who had become the voice of Gaza for his extensive reporting from the enclave.

Al Jazeera called the attack a violation of international norms and laws, “amounting to war crimes”.

“Despite relentless targeting, Al Jazeera remains resolute in providing live coverage of the Israeli genocide in Gaza for the past 23 months, with occupation authorities barring international media outlets from entering to report on the war,” it adds.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the OIC has been holding an extraordinary meeting in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to discuss the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

The OIC has condemned the Israeli army’s killing of journalists and media professionals as a “war crime” and an “assault on press freedom”.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
The PFLP, a left-wing Palestinian faction founded in 1967, says the attack was proof of “the absolute brutality and sadism of the [Israeli] occupation”.

It says it holds Israel and its allies responsible, adding that supporters, led by the United States (US) administration, are “fully responsible for this organised crime”.

The PFLP is the second-largest group in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) after Fatah.

Qatar
Qatar says it considers this Israeli attack a new episode “in the ongoing series of heinous crimes committed by the occupation against brotherly Palestinian people and a blatant violation of international law”.

The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in a statement that Israel’s targeting of journalists and humanitarian workers requires “urgent and decisive international action” to provide protection and ensure accountability.

The ministry also reiterates the urgent need for global solidarity to end the brutal genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the enclave, and move forward toward achieving a just and sustainable peace that guarantees the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Turkiye
Ankara has denounced the strikes as “another war crime”.

“Press freedom and human values have once again been targeted, under the shadow of genocide, amid the anguished cries of the innocent,” Burhanettin Duran, the head of Turkiye’s presidential communications directorate, says in a post on X.

Israel, which continues its atrocities without regard for any humanitarian or legal principles, is under the illusion that it can prevent the truth from being revealed through its systematic attacks on journalists.”

Iran
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says the attacks constituted a “barbaric war crime”, committed by Israel to advance its plan for the “genocide of Palestinians”.

The US and other allies of Israel that have armed it during the war must be accountable to the international community after being complicit in Israel’s “horrific crimes”, Esmaeil Baghaei says in a short statement.

Egypt
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned the attack, describing it as another “blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.

“Egypt expresses its strong denunciation of the Israeli occupation’s deliberate targeting of journalists and workers in the medical and humanitarian field, and rejects the crimes of genocide it is committing against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” it says, calling on the international community and the United Nations Security Council to intervene.

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel’s attack on medical personnel and journalists.

The ministry stresses the kingdom’s rejection of Israel’s ongoing violations of international law and norms,” it says.

“The kingdom reiterates its call on the international community to put an end to these Israeli crimes and emphasises the need to protect medical, relief, and media personnel.”

Israel
Prime minister Netanyahu says he “deeply regrets the tragic mishap” at Nasser Hospital.

In a statement from his office posted on X, Netanyahu says that Israel “values” the work of journalists, medical staff and civilians.

“The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation,” the statement adds.

Israel’s investigations into the actions of its forces rarely lead to criminal charges or any form of accountability.

United Kingdom
Foreign secretary David Lammy has expressed horror at the attack.

“Horrified by Israel’s attack on Nasser hospital. Civilians, healthcare workers and journalists must be protected. We need an immediate ceasefire,” Lammy writes in a post on X.

Spain
The Spanish Foreign Ministry has issued a statement decrying the strike as a flagrant violation of humanitarian law.

“The Spanish government condemns the Israeli attack on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of four journalists and innocent civilians,” the ministry says.

“We reiterate that specially protected sites cannot be targeted. This is a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law, which must be investigated.”

The statement stresses the importance of special protection for journalists, and reaffirmes Spain’s “full commitment” to the right of access to information.

Germany
Germany says it is “shocked by the killing of several journalists, rescue workers, and other civilians”.

“This attack must be investigated,” the Foreign Ministry says on X, also calling on Israel to “allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza”.

France
French president Emmanuel Macron says the strikes are “intolerable”.

“Civilians and journalists must be protected under all circumstances. The media must be able to carry out their mission freely and independently to cover the reality of the conflict,” Macron says in a post on X.

“Reducing a population to famine is a crime that must stop immediately,” he adds.

Canada
Canada has condemned the attack and says Israel has an obligation to protect civilians in the combat zone.

“Canada is horrified by the Israeli military strike at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which killed five journalists and many civilians, including rescuers and health officials. Such attacks are unacceptable,” the Foreign Ministry says in a statement.

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
The CPJ calls for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its “continued unlawful attacks on the press”.

In a statement, CPJ’s regional director, Sara Qudah, says Israel’s killing of journalists in the enclave continues while “the world watches and fails to act firmly on the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced in recent history.

“These murders must end now. The perpetrators must no longer be allowed to act with impunity,” Qudah adds.

Foreign Press Association
The association, which represents international media working in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, says it is “outraged and in shock”.

In a statement, the group demands “an immediate explanation” from the Israeli army and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

“We call on Israel once and for all to halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists,” it adds.

“This must be a watershed moment. We appeal to international leaders: Do everything you can to protect our colleagues. We cannot do it ourselves.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
The press organisation says it “fiercely condemns” the killings of the journalists.

“How far will the Israeli armed forces go in their gradual effort to eliminate information coming from Gaza? How long will they continue to defy international humanitarian law?” the RSF’s director general, Thibaut Bruttin, says in a statement.

“RSF calls for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to ensure [that UN Resolution 2222] is finally respected, and that concrete measures are taken to end impunity for crimes against journalists, protect Palestinian journalists, and open access to the Gaza Strip to all reporters.”

Freedom of the Press Foundation
The press freedom organisation has accused Israel of mounting an increasingly brazen campaign to “discredit, silence and kill journalists”.

“This attack on journalism should be at the centre of any coverage of Gaza, whether about killings of reporters or anything else. Any story that quotes an Israeli official or references Israeli allegations should say that Israel does not allow the international press to verify its claims and kills the local journalists who try,” the organisation says in a statement.

“Surely if a local mayor were banning reporters from City Hall and having their deputies kill those it can’t keep out, no newspaper would quote the mayor without providing that context. The same should apply here – the public should know it’s not getting the full story because the journalists witnessing it first-hand are being systematically assassinated.”

Reuters
In a statement, a Reuters spokesperson says the news agency is “devastated to learn of the death of Reuters contractor Hussam al-Masri and injuries to another of our contractors, Hatem Khaled, in Israeli strikes on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza today”.

The spokesperson says Reuters is “urgently seeking more information” about the attack and has “asked authorities in Gaza and Israel to help us get urgent medical assistance for Hatem”.

UN secretary general
Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the killing of Palestinians in Israeli strikes that struck Nasser Hospital and called for an investigation, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says.

“The secretary general recalls that civilians, including medical personnel and journalists, must be respected and protected at all times. He calls for a prompt, impartial investigation into these killings,” Dujarric told reporters.

UN envoy Francesca Albanese
“Rescuers killed in the line of duty. Scenes like this unfold every moment in Gaza, often unseen, largely undocumented,” says Albanese, the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, in a post on X.

“I beg states: how much more must be witnessed before you act to stop this carnage? Break the blockade. Impose an arms embargo. Impose sanctions,” she writes.

UN rights office
“The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world – not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani says in a statement.

“Journalists are not a target. Hospitals are not a target,” the statement adds.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East chief Philippe Lazzarini
Lazzarini has called for immediate protection for journalists, health professionals and aid workers in Gaza after the strike.

In a post on X, Lazzarini expresses shock at what he called the “silencing [of] the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently and famine” in Gaza.

He urges immediate action to end the famine by lifting restrictions on aid entering the enclave and ensuring protection for reporters, and humanitarian and health workers.

“Time for political will,” he writes. “Not tomorrow, now.”

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
MSF describes the attack as “horrendous”.

Jerome Grimaud, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, says journalist Mariam Abu Daqqa worked with the relief organisation.

“We are heartbroken by her death. Mariam leaves behind a son who must now grow up without his mother,” Grimaud says, adding that MSF staff members were forced to shelter in the laboratory of the hospital as Israel hit the building amid rescue efforts.

He has expressed outrage at Israel’s continuing attacks on journalists and medical facilities “with impunity”.

“As Israel continues to shun international law, the only witnesses of their genocidal campaign are deliberately being targeted. It must stop now.”

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