DJV demands probe into deadly airstrike in Gaza, says Israeli military's deliberate targeting of journalists based on unverifiable accusations 'unacceptable'
The German Journalists' Association (DJV) on Monday strongly condemned the killing of Palestinian journalists by Israeli military forces in Gaza and called for an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.
DJV Chairman Mika Beuster denounced the killing of an "unbearably high number" of journalists since the Gaza war began and underlined that nothing justifies targeting a journalists' tent in Gaza City where the Al Jazeera team was stationed.
"The fact that media professionals are dying in the armed conflict is terrible enough. That they are being deliberately targeted based on unverifiable accusations is unacceptable," he said, adding that Israel's claims that journalists had ties to Hamas were rejected by both the UN and the broadcaster.
Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qraiqea were killed Sunday, along with three other Al Jazeera journalists, in an Israeli strike targeting a journalists’ tent near the Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, according to the Gaza’s Government Media Office.
Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the Israeli army’s assassination of its correspondents and cameramen in the Gaza Strip, calling it “a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza.”
According to Gaza's Government Media Office, the journalist death toll has risen to 238 since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, following the deaths of al-Sharif and Qraiqea, along with four other journalists.
The office identified the other victims as photojournalists Ibrahim Dahir and Moumin Alaywa, and assistant photojournalist Mohammed Noufal.
In a later statement, the Media Office said Mohammed Al-Khalidi, another Palestinian journalist working for the Sahat news outlet, died of his injuries sustained in last night’s Israeli strike.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal military offensive on Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 61,000 Palestinians, almost half of them women and children. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Despite mounting international concerns about escalating ethnic cleansing and genocide against Palestinians, Israel's Security Cabinet on Friday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to expand military operations and fully occupy Gaza City.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its interim ruling on Gaza last year, said that it's "plausible" that Israel's actions could amount to genocide. The court issued provisional measures, requiring the Israeli government to abide by international law and ensure aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza.
