The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an investigation following reports on the war in Gaza by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reuters and Agence France-Presse suggesting the strike that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six others was a “a deliberate assault by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on civilians, which constitutes a war crime.”
CPJ also said there has been “a deadly pattern of IDF force that killed 20 journalists over the last 22 years” with no accountability.
The IDF had not responded to a request for comment at press time.
As of December 11, at least 63 journalists and media workers have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war, according to CPJ sources and media reports, the vast majority of them (56) Palestinians and the vast majority of those in Israeli airstrikes.
CPJ says it cannot confirm that all the deaths cited occurred during the conduct of their journalistic mission but inludes them while it investigations the circumstances. It also points out that as of December 11, 11 journalists were reported injured, three were missing and 19 had reportedly been arrested.
“Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats,” Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said. “Many have lost colleagues, families, and media facilities, and have fled seeking safety when there is no safe haven or exit.”
