Anadolu hosts panel probing Israeli war crimes in Gaza through lens of int’l law

By Seda Sevencan and Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu on Tuesday hosted a panel that discussed war crimes committed by Israel through the lens of international criminal law.

Genocide in Gaza: New Evidence was held at Anadolu’s headquarters in the capital Ankara and extensively examined all dimensions of the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Speaking at the event, Anadolu's General Manager and Board Chairman Serdar Karagoz, recalled that Israel has carried out intensive attacks against Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

Karagoz said Anadolu has been broadcasting these atrocities to the world.

Stressing the duty and responsibility of journalists to convey this situation to the world, Karagoz stated: “As Anadolu, since October, we have been broadcasting Israel's attacks on Gaza moment by moment to both our nation and the world. Twenty-six of our colleagues are working inside Gaza.”

Regarding the killing of Anadolu cameraman Montaser Al-Sawaf as a result of Israel's deliberate attacks, Karagoz said: “We will keep the name Montaser Al-Sawaf alive in the Anadolu family.”

- Trilogy: Evidence, Witness, Defendant

Karagoz outlined Anadolu's efforts in this regard with its book, Evidence, a compilation of images that prove Israel's war crimes in Gaza. It has been considered admissible evidence in the genocide case at The Hague.

The book contains images recognized as war crimes within the framework of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, he said.

"We designed a trilogy. First Evidence. Our colleagues who served in Gaza handled the Evidence within the framework of the Rome Statute. Many pieces of evidence from the book have been accepted in the case being heard in The Hague today.”

“Then we prepared the book, Witness. The Witness is currently a draft, not yet published,” he said, adding the book includes the experiences of those who witnessed Israel's brutality.

“The third book of our trilogy is Defendant, the criminals. The perpetrators who caused this brutality, this genocide in Israel,” he said, adding this book also will be published soon.

“Therefore, with Evidence, Witness, and Defendant, we wanted to leave a mark in history. This is our biggest responsibility," Karagoz said, adding three separate documentaries on these books will also be made.

Karagoz also unveiled new photographs proving Israel's crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The panel featured journalists and academics.

Anadolu reporters previously documented and publicized war crimes committed by Israel against Gaza since Oct. 7 last year, with photographs captured by Anadolu photojournalists being utilized as evidence at the ICJ.

The images were compiled into a book titled "Evidence" and presented to the public.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 29,000 and injured over 69,000 others.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.