Khan Younis: Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor strongly condemns Israeli occupation forces' direct and deliberate attack on a tent housing Palestinian journalists in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip on Monday. The attack resulted in the martyrdom of one journalist and injured nine additional journalists, making it a blatant and intentional crime carried out by Israel with full knowledge of its consequences.
According to Qatar News Agency, Israel's deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists is a primary objective of its genocide, Euro-Med Monitor said in a statement, adding that this is evidenced by the series of horrific crimes committed by Israel against journalists in the Gaza Strip since the start of its genocide against Palestinians on Oct. 7, 2023.
"To date, 211 journalists have been killed, and dozens more have been injured or arrested. These attacks are accompanied by systematic incitement campaigns and policies aimed at stripping journalists of their professional status, a deliberate attempt to justify their unlawful targeting and silence the voice of truth in the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
"As part of the broader genocidal campaign it is carrying out in the Gaza Strip, Israel has killed at least 15 Palestinian journalists since the beginning of this year alone," it added, stressing that these crimes against journalists are an integral component of Israel's deliberate policy to silence the voices of Palestinian victims and obstruct the documentation of atrocities committed against the civilian population in the Strip.
Israel must be held fully accountable for these grave violations, which represent a flagrant breach of international law and a blatant contradiction of its obligations to protect journalists and uphold press freedom in exposing the truth and revealing the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, the statement said.
"Targeting journalists and attempting to erase evidence of genocide are central to Israel's genocidal campaign. Israel's crimes are not limited to mass killings of civilians, but extend to eliminating witnesses who can convey and document the crimes through their tools and testimonies," according to the statement.
The statement also said that the policy of impunity enjoyed by Israel in the absence of any effective international mechanisms to hold it accountable for the crimes it commits against Palestinian journalists empowers it to continue its crimes, including violations of press freedom and the right to access information.
"Accordingly, a comprehensive international investigation must be opened into the violations and crimes that the Israeli occupation army has committed, and continues to commit, against Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip. Immediate actions are needed to hold all perpetrators accountable, compensate the victims, and pressure Israel to stop the direct targeting and deliberate killing of journalists, ensuring the protection of their work and enabling them to carry out their mission, which is to report the truth. International journalists and news agency crews should also be allowed to enter and work in the Gaza Strip without restrictions or conditions, and their safety should be ensured," The Euro-Med Monitor said.