🤥 Israel does not deliberately target journalists.

International humanitarian law mandates the protection of journalists operating in conflict zones. However, there is an abundance of evidence indicating that Israel consistently targets and kills Palestinian journalists. As of April 16, 2024, preliminary investigations by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) revealed that at least 95 journalists and media workers were among the tens of thousands of civilians killed since the war began on October 7. Gaza’s Government Media Office reports at least 126 Palestinian media workers killed.

In the first three months of Israel’s 2023-2024 War on Gaza, more journalists were killed than in all of World War II or the Vietnam War. Data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) indicates that the number of journalists killed in the initial ten weeks of the conflict also exceeded the highest annual journalist death toll in any recorded armed conflict in any country.

Palestinian citizen and professional journalists prominently wear press jackets and helmets, clearly identifying their status. Despite these clear designations and protected status, the Israeli army has assassinated journalists with sniper fire (Al Najah’s Asem Al-Barsh and Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh), precision shots carried out by drones (Al Jazeera’s Samer Abudaqa), missile strikes targeting journalists in residential areas (Quds News Network director, Hassouneh Salim and freelance photographer Hassouneh Salim), missile strikes targeting homes (Anadolu Agency’s Montaser Al-Sawaf and Roshdi Sarrajj) and missile strikes targeting press marked cars carrying journalists (Palestinian Press House’s Bilal Jadallah and Al Jazeera’s Hamza Al Dahdouh and AFP’s Mustafa Thuraya). These are only a few examples of the many documented incidents in which Israel has deliberately targeted journalists.Israel’s conduct confirms these accounts.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has consistently urged independent investigations into deliberate attacks on and targeted assassinations of Palestinian journalists during the 2023-2024 War, including the missile strikes that killed Al Jazeera’s Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya. Regarding Dahdouh and Thuraya, the CPJ reported, “Israel initially claimed it targeted a car carrying journalists in Gaza because there was a terrorist inside. Now it suggests that the use of a drone by a journalist made them ‘appear’ as terrorists.”

On October 13, 2023, the Israeli military conducted strikes targeting a group of seven journalists in Southern Lebanon, all clearly identified in press gear. These strikes resulted in the death of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injuries to six others. This deliberate attack on journalists by Israel follows a documented pattern preceding October 7, 2023. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International classified these strikes as “apparently deliberate attacks on civilians and thus war crimes.” Reporters Without Borders has lodged multiple complaints with the International Criminal Court to investigate the killing of these seven Palestinian journalists, suggesting they may have been intentionally targeted due to their profession. Consequently, RSF describes these deaths as deliberate homicides of civilians.

Israel openly admitted to Reuters and Agence France Presse that it cannot and will not guarantee the safety of journalists working in Gaza during the 2023-2024 war when these agencies sought assurances that their journalists would not be targeted by the Israeli army.

Before the 2023-2024 War, UNESCO has documented the targeted killing of 21 professional or citizen journalists in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2002. CPJ has documented the targeted killing of 25 journalists in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1992.

On May 11, 2022, an Israeli army sniper fatally shot Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the head while she was reporting on clashes between the Israeli Army and Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank. Abu Akleh was wearing a clearly marked press vest and helmet. Israeli snipers then targeted Abu Akleh’s colleagues who were trying to rescue her. Israel attempted to deflect blame for the assassination of Abu Akleh on Palestinian militants until multiple investigations conclusively demonstrated the Israeli Army’s responsibility for her killing. No Israeli soldier/s have been held accountable by Israel for the assassination of Abu Akleh to date.

The Israeli Army also deliberately and repeatedly targets and threatens the families of journalists such as Wael Al Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza (whose wife, daughter, two sons, and grandson were killed at home, and another son–Hamza, a journalist–was targeted and killed while reporting). Palestinian journalists repeatedly report receiving death threats from Israel targeting them and their families. Israel’s conduct confirms these accounts.