Press freedom groups urge EU to call for protection of journalists amid Gaza war

'Unprecedented killing of so many journalists in so brief period of time has obvious and profound implications for ability of public,' says Committee to Protect Journalists

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and 17 partner journalist organizations on Wednesday urged the EU to call for the protection of journalists amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.

"The unprecedented killing of so many journalists in so brief a period of time 'has obvious and profound implications for the ability of the public, including the citizens of the European Union, to be informed about a conflict with local, regional, and global implications,'" said a letter from the press freedom groups to the EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell.

A total of 119 journalists have lost their lives since the conflict began on Oct. 7.

"We are writing to entreat you to act immediately and decisively to promote the conditions for safe and unrestricted reporting on the hostilities," the letter said.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 25,700 Palestinians and injuring 63,740 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Kaynak:

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