Sanef condemns Israel’s ongoing killing of journalists in Gaza [VIDEO]

As Israel’s war on Gaza rages on, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza, calling for an end to attacks on the media reporters.

Sanef said it is deeply concerned about the news that two more journalists have been killed in Gaza.

Journalist and family killed

Palestine TV correspondent Mohammed Mansour, his wife, and his child were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Khan Younis.

The attack was reported on social media by 23-year-old Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat, who, over an hour later, himself was killed in Beit Lahia when a drone strike targeted his car.

Israel’s military accused Shabat of being a secret Hamas operative, a claim the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Israel has repeatedly levied against Palestinian journalists without evidence to justify their killing or mistreatment.

Watch Hossam Shabat speaking about his ambitions once the Gaza war ended

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Israeli crimes

Sanef said the killing of reporters is among the many war crimes committed by the Israeli government since the conflict began. 

“Sanef strongly condemns the targeting of journalists and media workers who risk their lives to provide accurate and impartial reporting. Journalists play a critical role in documenting the realities of war, holding power to account, and ensuring the world has access to credible information.

“The continued attacks on media personnel are a blatant assault on press freedom and a gross violation of international humanitarian law,” Sanef said.

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Journalists killed in Gaza

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 232 journalists – an average of 13 per week – making it the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded, according to a report by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs’ Costs of War project.

More journalists have been killed in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia and the United States war in Afghanistan combined, the report published on Tuesday found.

“To put this into historical context, 69 journalists were killed in World War II, while 63 lost their lives during the Vietnam conflict. The current toll in Gaza is the highest recorded in any modern conflict, underscoring the extreme risks faced by journalists reporting from the region,” Sanef said.

Media freedom

With Israel’s war on Gaza passing the 550-day mark, Israel has blocked outside journalists from entering Gaza to independently cover the war.

That means it’s been almost solely up to Palestinian journalists there to report on a war they themselves are living through.

Organizations in Israel and internationally have been pressing for access. But there has been very little movement from the government.

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