By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN on Thursday denounced Israel’s targeting journalists in the northern Gaza Strip, emphasizing the "alarming" number of reporters killed.
Asked about an Al Jazeera photojournalist being targeted by Israeli army gunfire while covering the situation in northern Gaza, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said at a news conference that "we've continued to deplore the killing of all journalists."
"No journalists should be killed in this conflict, and yet you've seen an alarming number of journalists both killed and injured. Our thoughts go out to your injured colleague," he said.
Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif wrote Wednesday on social media that "gunfire was directed at the Al Jazeera team, injuring its photojournalist Fadi Al-Wahidi with a bullet to the neck during coverage."
The number of journalists killed since the Israeli onslaught began on Gaza hit 176, the Gaza Media Office said in a statement.
Regarding the situation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Haq cited an Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report and said at least two dozen Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the first week of October.
He said those killed included four children.
"During this period, another 130 Palestinians, including at least 16 children and six paramedics, were injured, either by Israeli forces or settlers," he added.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
More than 42,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 97,700 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.