The Committee to Protect Journalists accused Israeli military of targeting journalists and their families in Gaza. The New York-based CPJ said as per Guardian that at least 68 journalists had been killed in Gaza, Israel and southern Lebanon since Hamas' October 7 attack in which 1,200 Israelis died. In retaliatory attacks by Tel Aviv, over 20,000 Palestinians have died, including more than 8,000 children.

“More journalists have been killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year,” it said, adding, “CPJ is particularly concerned about an apparent pattern of targeting of journalists and their families by the Israeli military. In at least one case, a journalist was killed while clearly wearing press insignia in a location where no fighting was taking place. In at least two other cases, journalists reported receiving threats from Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers before their family members were killed.”

The CPJ called for Israel to “end the longstanding pattern of impunity in cases of journalists killed by the IDF” as it said that sixty-one of the journalists killed were Palestinian and three were Lebanese.

‘There’s a pattern of threats'

“The journalist told Al Jazeera that he had received multiple phone calls from officers in the Israeli army instructing him to cease coverage and leave northern Gaza. Additionally, he received voice notes on WhatsApp disclosing his location,” it said.

Additionally, Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders warned that “journalism is in the process of being eradicated in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s refusal to heed calls to protect media personnel”.

“Reporters there have no safe refuge and no way of leaving. They are being killed one after another. Since 7 October, the Palestinian territory has been subjected to a veritable eradication of journalism,” it said.

Source: Hindustan Times