Doha, August 28 (QNA) - Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli war machine has been targeting civilians in the Gaza Strip, but Palestinian journalists have always been caught in the crossfire, demonstrating a systematic policy to silence free speech and obscure the truth.

The massacre at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, which resulted in the deaths of five journalists last Monday, adds to a record that has so far claimed the lives of 247 journalists, according to data from the government office in Gaza.

The crime, which occurred in front of cameras and on live television, sparked a wave of global outrage. Palestinian journalists considered it a clear declaration that the occupation is not content with killing individuals, but is targeting the truth itself and those who report it.

Last Monday, the media community in the Gaza Strip lost two professional journalists working for international media outlets in that incident at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. Among them were photographers Moaz Abu Taha and Mohammed Salama from Al Jazeera, Hossam Al Masry, a photographer for Reuters, journalist Mariam Abu Daqqa, who works for the Associated Press, and Ahmed Abu Aziz, a journalist for the Middle East Eye website. This horrific crime revealed the extent of the deliberate targeting of the media and journalists in Gaza.

On Aug. 10, six journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike near Al Shifa Hospital. Five of the journalists worked for Al Jazeera. The key figure of those was reporter Anas Al Sharif, who was accompanied by his colleague Mohammed Qreiqea, and cameramen Ibrahim Daher, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Nofal. The journalists' tent was directly targeted. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident, calling for an independent and impartial investigation.

The State of Qatar condemned the Israeli occupation's bombing of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, describing it as a new chapter in the ongoing series of heinous crimes committed by the occupation against the fraternal Palestinian people and a flagrant violation of international law.

In a statement, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the occupation's approach of targeting journalists and relief and medical workers requires urgent and decisive international action to provide the necessary protection for civilians and ensure that the perpetrators of these atrocities do not escape punishment. The ministry also reiterated the urgent need for global solidarity to end the brutal genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, address the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Strip, and move forward toward achieving a just and sustainable peace in the region, which guarantees the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In this context, the Israeli army's continued targeting of journalistic crews in Gaza has sparked global outrage. Several parties have condemned the operation and called for Israel to be held accountable for its crimes targeting the press, which reports on the violations committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that the death of journalists in the Gaza Strip should shock the world and prompt it to take action to demand accountability and justice, not silence.

For his part, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Thameen Al Kheetan noted that documented attacks on journalists indicate a rapid and alarming increase in the targeting of journalists since the beginning of the conflict. He said that these journalists are the eyes and ears of the entire world and must be protected.

In the same vein, the Muslim World League expressed its strongest condemnation of the Israeli occupation forces' bombing of the Nasser Medical Complex and the targeting of civilian personnel. The Arab States Broadcasting Union also condemned the Israeli occupation's targeting of medical, relief, and media personnel at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis. In a statement, the union urged the international community to take action to stop the occupation's targeting of media personnel.  

Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) regarding the turning point in the Palestinian cause and the targeting of journalists in Gaza, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Press Center Saad Al Rumaihi stated that the Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, represent a historic shift in the course of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the people of Gaza stood alone in the face of this brutal aggression that did not distinguish between people and stone.

He added that the Palestinian people have recorded a heroic epic that will be immortalized in history. Now, as the second year nears its end, the struggle and resistance of Gaza's people continue, despite the imbalance of power between the two sides.

Regarding the objective of the Israeli entity in continuing its aggression on the devastated Strip, Al Rumaihi stressed that people cannot learn the facts and what is happening on the ground and the course of battles except through journalists and media professionals who deliver information to the public, as known in wars and major events.

He added that they are the unknown soldiers who stand bravely so that the world can see, hear, and read the news of these events and understand the reality and what is happening.

Therefore, he accentuated, the Israeli occupation has deliberately silenced these voices as long as they convey to the world the true image and the tragedies faced by the people of Gaza.

He highlighted that the occupation can only achieve this through the most heinous and extreme violations, unfortunately, through the physical elimination of these great journalists.

He underscored that the Israeli assaults on Palestinian journalists clearly reveal Israel's insistence on imposing its unilateral media narrative, which contradicts the reality on the ground.

In light of the world’s failure and inability to enact binding laws to protect journalists and media professionals and defend them against Israeli arrogance, the Chairman of the Qatar Press Center affirmed in his statements to QNA, the situation requires urgent action to protect journalists, so that the matter does not remain a mere dream difficult to achieve.

Al Rumaihi confirmed that Israel continues its arrogance without any deterrent punishment from international bodies and organizations concerned with humanitarian and journalistic affairs.

He reiterated the need to capitalize on the wave of international outrage and the storm of criticism directed at Israeli policy due to its continuous and deliberate targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip, including journalists, emphasizing the importance of harnessing the growing global humanitarian sentiment toward the Palestinian cause and Al Aqsa Mosque.

He pointed out that the demonstrations and sit-ins that have swept many countries around the world now reflect this solidarity, even in the United States of America, where university campuses have turned into platforms for defending Gaza and its people.

He explained that the Qatar Press Center has sought and continues to support the steadfastness of the people of Gaza through numerous media initiatives, seminars, exhibitions, news coverage, and other means, which it considers a duty as it lives through these events and follows their developments.

The Chairman of the Qatar Press Center concluded by emphasizing the necessity of standing by the Palestinian people, moving beyond mere condemnation and denunciation, which is all we currently possess.

He added that specialized global organizations must exert more pressure on Israel to stop its aggression against the Palestinian people, enabling them to obtain their most basic rights to live in safety and dignity.

With every Israeli assault on media workers in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, renewed calls emerge from all press unions, media, human rights, and legal organizations around the world for explicit condemnation of these repeated crimes, with the urgent need to put an end to them, so that Israel does not succeed in its attempts to silence voices and images and prevent the transmission of the truth about the crimes it commits against the Palestinian people. (QNA)