Reporters Without Borders files complaint with International Criminal Court for war crimes against journalists in Gaza

By Zehra Nur Duz

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday said it has filed a complaint for war crimes committed against journalists in Gaza.

“These reporters were the victims of attacks amounting – at the very least – to war crimes justifying an investigation by the prosecutor of ICC,” the watchdog said in a statement.

Filed with the office of the ICC prosecutor on Tuesday, the RSF’s complaint details the cases of nine journalists killed since Oct. 7, which is facing air ground attacks since the Hamas cross border attack, and two others who were injured in the course of their work.

It also mentioned the “deliberate, total or partial,” destruction of the premises of more than 50 media outlets in Gaza.

A total of 34 journalists have been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, of whom at least 12 were killed in the course of their work – 10 in Gaza, one in Israel and one in Lebanon, according to the RSF.

“The scale, seriousness and recurring nature of international crimes targeting journalists, particularly in Gaza, calls for a priority investigation by the ICC prosecutor. We have been calling for this since 2018. The current tragic events demonstrate the extreme urgency of the need for ICC action," said RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

This is the RSF’s third complaint to the ICC prosecutor about war crimes against Palestinian journalists in Gaza since 2018.

The first was filed in May 2018 about journalists killed or injured during the “Great March of Return” protests in Gaza.

The second was filed in May 2021 following Israeli air strikes on more than 20 media outlets in the Gaza Strip.

The RSF also supported the complaint filed by Al Jazeera about the fatal shooting of Palestinian journalist Shirin Abu Akleh in the West Bank on May 11, 2022.