Israel has bombed media sites in the Gaza Strip prompting outrage from the international journalistic community.
On May 11th and 12th, Israel bombed the Al-Jawhara and Al-Shorouk office buildings in Gaza City. The Israelis claim that the building contains media groups linked to the Hamas, the militant organisation that has fired over 1,000 rockets into Israel.
Residents and inhabitants of the building were warned before the strike took place, giving them just moments to evacuate. Despite this warning, there are reports that dozens were killed or wounded. The targeting of media groups in wartime is a war crime under international law.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounced the attacks. CPJ's Middle East and North Africa representative, Ignacio Miguel Delgado said:
"It is utterly unacceptable for Israel to bomb and destroy the offices of media outlets and endanger the lives of journalists, especially since Israeli authorities know where those media outlets are housed. Israeli authorities must ensure that journalists can do their jobs safely without fear of being injured or killed."
This is the moment an Israeli airstrike struck a high-rise building in Gaza as journalist Youmna Al Sayed reported live for Al Jazeera from a neighbouring building on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/bTXGjqdasV
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 14, 2021
The Al-Jawhara building contained offices of the following organisations:
London-based Qatari broadcaster Al-Araby TV
News website and newspaper Felestin (Palestine)
Kata'eb Hezbollah-affiliated Iraqi broadcaster Al-Etejah TV
Pro-Fatah broadcaster Al-Kofiya TV
Jordanian broadcaster Al-Mamlaka
Pro-Hamas outlet Sabq24 News Agency
News website Al-Bawaba 24
Production company Watania News Agency
Media rights group Forum of Palestinian Journalists
The Al-Shorouk building, contained:
Hamas-affiliated broadcasters Al-Aqsa TV and Al-Aqsa Radio
The media production company PMP
The pro-Hamas broadcaster Al-Quds Today
The Palestinian National Authority-affiliated newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadida
🚨 GAZA 🚨
— Gabriel Elizondo (@elizondogabriel) May 15, 2021
Office tower housing media - including Al Jazeera and AP offices - was bombed by Israel. Building just collapsed.
I pray for the safety of colleagues. Our staff are still reporting on the phone.
“This channel will not be silenced,” @hallamohieddeen tells viewers. pic.twitter.com/YQHUa3LpVQ
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement that they had attacked the buildings because they were a key part of the Hamas organisation. They said the Al-Jawhara building contained Hamas's military wing's Public Relations department and:
"Infrastructure used by the terror organizations to communicate tactical-military information."
The IDF said that it had done everything possible to stop civilian casualties. The ongoing crisis was sparked after Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem were forced to give their homes to Jewish settlers. This dispute erupted into rioting and Hamas rocket fire, which Israel has used as a pretext for bombing the Gaza Strip. Well over 100 people have already been killed.
[h/t: Committe to Protect Journalists]
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