Israel is murdering journalists in Gaza as the world watches.
A recent report from CNN revealed that the war in Gaza accounted for more than 70 per cent of journalist fatalities last year, making it the deadliest year for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began keeping records in 1992. At least 184 of the 192 journalists killed since October 7, 2023, were Palestinians killed by Israel.
These figures alone should demand urgent and overwhelming global outrage. Instead, state governments continue to ignore them.
The dangerous narrative since October 7 is that anyone who supports Palestine is Hamas. This framing gives the Israeli Defense Forces license to justify murder with a single word. The IDF justified the targeted killing of Anas al-Sharif, a 28-year-old Al Jazeera correspondent, by saying he was a Hamas operative. Israel has used the same excuse to justify the killing of several journalists. These accusations are not backed by evidence and vilify the murdered journalists. They negate their humanity.
The killings also set a dangerous precedent for the safety of journalists in war. Al Jazeera called al-Sharif’s killing “another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom.”
The UN has long recognized that journalism is “fundamental for sustainable development, human rights protection and democratic consolidation.” In other words, protecting journalists is not optional; it is essential for upholding democracy, freedom and collective memory.
The images of funerals and bloodstained press vests are chilling, yet they are only fragments of the horrifying reality. The systematic destruction of Palestinian journalists makes truth itself harder to reach. Without journalism, there is no truth. And without truth, there can be no accountability.
Take the story of Hossam Shabat. The 23-year-old was documenting Israel’s assault on Gaza when he was killed in Beit Lahiya during an Israeli attack. He had not even graduated from university. His brother Mahmoud told Al Jazeera, “He knew that to be a journalist in Gaza, to tell the truth, meant that he would be killed.” Hossam’s fate is tragically not unique; it represents the silencing of countless young reporters whose only weapon was a camera or a pen.
Reporters should not fear for their lives. Reporters should not have to choose between truth and survival.
There is no way this is collateral damage. This is a deliberate campaign to erase witnesses to atrocities and to deny the world an unfiltered account of what is happening on the ground.
It is not a crime to be a journalist. But it is a crime to murder those brave enough to document your injustices. If the murdering of journalists in Gaza continues, there will be no one left to show the world the truth.
