DaysofPal- The government media office (GMO) in the Gaza Strip reported Sunday, that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have killed 188 Palestinian journalists, injured 396, and kidnapped 40 others since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Speaking during a solidarity gathering held today in front of the journalists’ tent at Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, GMO director Ismail Thawabta called for urgent efforts to enable injured journalists to travel abroad for medical treatment.
“Today, we gather in this solidarity stand to denounce the crimes of killing and genocide against our fellow journalists and media professionals, the most honorable martyrs of all. We also stand in support of our wounded colleagues, who urgently need to travel abroad for medical treatment,” he said.
“Israeli occupation is preventing the transfer of injured journalist colleagues to hospitals abroad for treatment, having imposed a strict closure on all crossings and routes leading to and from the Gaza Strip for over 200 consecutive days,” he further added.
“We are here today to raise our voices and call on the International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union, and all unions and organizations dedicated to the rights of journalists and media professionals to intervene strongly and effectively. We urge them to coordinate with the international community and relevant legal and human rights institutions to exert meaningful pressure to allow our injured media colleagues to travel abroad for medical treatment.”
He also emphasized that Palestinian journalists and media professionals “have always been and continue to be exceptional heroes, unmatched anywhere in the world, noting that journalists have carried the weight of their responsibility and duty toward their just Palestinian cause and in confronting the injustice faced by Palestinian people.
The GMO director explained that IOF have continued its war for over 408 consecutive days, resulting in more than 53,800 martyrs and missing persons, along with over 103,600 wounded.
He added that IOF destroyed 15 vital sectors, including the health and education sectors, whose destruction constitutes a violation of international law, international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and the broader international legal framework.
He pointed out that 188 journalists and media professionals have been killed to date, calling on all international journalists’ unions to denounce these horrific crimes.
He charged that the Israeli genocide has included the destruction of numerous media institutions, such as satellite channels, radio stations, news agencies, training centers, and various media hubs, along with essential equipment needed to operate television, radio stations, and other media outlets, adding that the initial and preliminary estimate of losses to the media sector amounts to approximately $400 million.
Thawabta called on the international community and its organizations to take legal action against the Israeli occupation regime to hold it accountable for its ongoing war crimes and pressure it to stop its genocide in Gaza.
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