This incident adds to a series of attacks on journalists in Gaza during the ongoing genocidal war, which has been ongoing for over six months. 

Several Palestinian journalists were injured in an Israeli assault on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on Friday, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Among them, photojournalist Sami Shehadeh underwent an amputation of his right foot and suffered various other injuries.

A correspondent from TRT Arabic, Türkiye’s public broadcaster, sustained minor injuries in the same attack, as reported by sources at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. 

Another journalist, Muhammad Al-Sawalhi, was also wounded by shrapnel in a separate Israeli artillery shelling in the area, injuring his right hand.

🚨Breaking : Israeli army directly targets a group of journalists from TRT Turkish channel, injuring one journalist with a leg amputation and others sustaining various injuries in Nusairat central #Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/Nie7r7pHB1

— Nour Naim| نُور (@NourNaim88) April 12, 2024

This incident adds to a series of attacks on journalists in Gaza during the ongoing genocidal war, which has been ongoing for over six months. 

According to data from the Gaza government media office, at least 140 journalists have been killed in Israeli assaults since October 7.

The Nuseirat camp has been experiencing heavy Israeli artillery and airstrikes since Thursday morning, coinciding with the Israeli army’s announcement of a military operation in the central Gaza Strip.

Meaningful Action Required

The International Federation of Journalists and 38 more media freedom organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists called last month on the Media Freedom Coalition member states to take “meaningful action” for the safety of journalists in Gaza.

According to the statement, the situation in Gaza “requires action from your member states to consistently and publicly call for the treatment of Palestinian journalists, who continue to report from Gaza in spite of the risks.”

The statement also called for “the immediate and unfettered access of international journalists to Gaza”.

The organizations criticized the “collective official silence of the (Media Freedom Coalition) member states” regarding the killings of journalists in Gaza, warning that it significantly undermines their capacity to advocate for media freedom on a global scale.

Deadliest Place for Journalists – CPJ, Media Organizations Call for Protection of Palestinian Reporters

“The collective official silence of the MFC member states as a group regarding these killings, with increasing evidence of journalists being specifically targeted (..) seriously diminishes our collective ability to credibly stand up for media freedom globally,” said the statement.

Calling them “our eyes and ears” on the ground, the statement added that journalists in Gaza are confronted with grave threats to their safety and require immediate assistance and solidarity.

“Finally, the growing evidence of targeted killings of journalists in this war requires a clear and joint call for prompt, independent, effective and thorough investigations into these killings,” said the statement.

Staggering Death Toll

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 33,634 Palestinians have been killed, and 76,214 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Massacres in Central Gaza – Israel’s Genocidal Assault Continues

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(PC, Anadolu)