As reported by CNN, Israel launched
"back-to-back strikes on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis" that
were "separated by only a matter of minutes." The second strike
killed some emergency crew members who had rushed to the scene in the wake of
the first strike.
The
strikes drew immediate condemnation from press freedom groups who accused
Israel of intentionally attacking reporters in Gaza and dismissed claims by
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the strikes were a "tragic
mishap."
Thibaut Bruttin, the director general of Reporters Without
Borders, said Israel attacked the journalists in an attempt to
prevent them from delivering news about the famine in Gaza.
"How
far will the Israeli armed forces go in their gradual effort to eliminate
information coming from Gaza?" he asked. "How long will they continue
to defy international humanitarian law? The protection of journalists is
guaranteed by international law, yet more than 200 of them have been killed by
Israeli forces in Gaza over the past two years."
He then called upon the United Nations Security Council to
set an emergency meeting to enact "concrete measures... to end impunity
for crimes against journalists, protect Palestinian journalists, and open
access to the Gaza Strip to all reporters."
Sara Qudah, regional director at the Committee to Protect
Journalists, called out the international community for letting
Israel get away with launching military strikes against reporters.
"Israel's
broadcasted killing of journalists in Gaza continues while the world watches
and fails to act firmly on the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced
in recent history," she said. "These murders must end now. The perpetrators
must no longer be allowed to act with impunity."
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA) accused Israel of "silencing the last
remaining voices reporting about children dying silently amid famine" in
Gaza, while charging the international community with reacting with
"indifference and inaction."
"This cannot be our future new norm," said UNRWA.
"Compassion must prevail. Let us undo this man-made famine by opening the
gates without restrictions and protecting
journalists, humanitarian and health workers. Time for political will. Not
tomorrow, now."
Former New York Times public editor Margaret
Sullivan said that her fellow journalists needed to hold the Israeli government
to account for its actions.
"Journalists everywhere need to stand in solidarity on
this killing spree and resulting news blackout," she wrote on
Bluesky.
And Drop Site News' Ryan Grim ripped into
Netanyahu's claim that his government "deeply regrets the tragic
mishap" that occurred at the hospital.
"Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap of striking a
hospital and then waiting 17 minutes until rescue workers gathered and striking
it again," Grim commented sarcastically on X.
Israel has previously claimed that attacks on
so-called "safe zones" and on aid workers were mistakes.
Another 'Heinous Massacre' of Journalists in Gaza
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