On Sunday, August 10, an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip killed six journalists, including four professionals from the Arab television network Al Jazeera. Among them was the courageous and renowned reporter Anas Al-Shariff, who was already aware of the danger involved in producing reports in Gaza. Shortly after his death, a message was posted on his social media account X.
As a dishonest justification for their actions, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared that the journalist was the leader of a cell of the extremist Hamas movement, proving once again that they will continue to persecute and threaten civilians under any excuse, while we watch the suffering of the Palestinian people being televised.
The six journalists who were murdered caused great commotion and outrage around the world, but they represent less than 10% of the actual number. According to a survey released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an American nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom and the rights of journalists, 192 media professionals were killed during attacks and bombings coordinated by the Israeli army.
Not to mention the 90 professionals who were arrested, as well as the numerous assaults, threats, cyberattacks, and censorship. This hostile environment has become one of the deadliest places for a journalist to live, even more so than during World War II. From the moment they put on the blue press vest, a systematic target is placed on their backs, which constitutes a war crime under international law.
Progressively, coverage of crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip is more limited and uncertain — meanwhile, international journalists are still prohibited from accessing the territory. “But it is hard to see, if Israel can wipe out an entire news crew without the international community so much as batting an eye, what will stop further attacks on reporters.”, protests Jodie Ginsberg, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In addition to extreme violence, starvation and food scarcity are also used by the State of Israel as instruments of oppression. Al Jazeera, alongside other international press freedom organizations, stated: “One in three people in Gaza now goes days without food. Among the starving are journalists, the last independent voices still reporting from inside Gaza. These are the individuals whose courage keeps the world informed of the sheer humanitarian impact of Israel’s war on Gaza. Now, they are being forced to die from hunger. This is not incidental. This is a tactic. The suffering of journalists is not an accident; Israel is employing deliberate tactics to silence the truth by starving them.”
Feeling helpless and exhausted is inevitable for voices that battle censorship on a daily basis. “I tell myself and my colleagues in the newsroom that I need twenty journalists to work with me to document even a fraction of what I see; there isn’t enough space, time, physical capacity, or mental bandwidth to document all this atrocity. Meanwhile, my mind doesn’t rest — it writes, erases, sends ideas and suggestions, and finds a story at every step that needs to be told. But my heart and body can’t keep up; my heart is on the verge of stopping, and my body can no longer bear it.”, journalist Maram Humaid pleads in an article for Al Jazeera.
The Palestinian photojournalist Mahmmoud Sabbah reveals that, even under constant threat, he is committed to continuing his work to bring the truth to the world. “You sit with a whole family that lost a family member. You sit with a child who lost a part of his body. You cry. Yes, there are times when you can’t handle it, but you ignore it because there’s a message you should deliver. You put your emotions aside because you have a job here, and you have to do your best to document it, because you are responsible for documenting it.”
After all, journalists are also civilians who put their physical and mental integrity at risk in their commitment to denounce the monstrosities committed against the Palestinian people. The question that needs to be asked is: how many more must die before the international community finally intervenes and takes appropriate measures to end this slaughter?
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The article above was edited by Camilly Vieira.
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