UN slams Israel’s killing of Gaza journalists

UN slams Israel’s killing of Gaza journalists

The UN human rights agency on Monday condemned Israel’s targeted killing of six journalists in Gaza as a “grave breach of international humanitarian law”.

The office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on X that the Israeli military had targeted a tent housing five staff from Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

A freelance journalist was also killed in Sunday’s strike, which Israel has acknowledged was a planned operation.

“Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,” Turk’s office added, noting that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Israel set off war in the Palestinian territory in October 2023.

“We call for immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists,” it said.

The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted prominent reporter Anas al-Sharif, whom it has repeatedly labelled a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, saying he “posed as a journalist”.

Reporters Without Borders, a media freedom group, said it “strongly and angrily condemns the acknowledged murder by the Israeli army” of al-Sharif and the other journalists.

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