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Proponents of press freedom have strongly condemned it Israel bombing a building in Gaza there were offices of Al Jazeera and the Associated Press news agency, saying it was a bold attempt to “silence” journalists reporting on the Israeli army’s ongoing offensive.
The 11-story Al-Jalaa building, which also houses several residences and other offices, was destroyed in an Israeli strike on Saturday afternoon. Dust and debris were thrown into the air as the building overturned and fell to the ground.
“The attack on the building we’ve seen is horrific and I think it’s catastrophic to shut down the media, silence criticism and, worst of all, create a layer of secrecy around this conflict,” Aidan White said. , Founder of the Ethical Journalism Network, a network of global groups for journalists and press rights.
At least 140 Palestinians, including 39 children, have been killed on the Gaza Strip since Israeli airstrikes began on Palestinian coastal territory on Monday. Another 950 were injured.
Violence comes after Israel’s intent forcibly relocating Palestinian families occupied East Jerusalem and its Attacks on Palestinian worshipers Protests spread in the Al-Aqsa mosque building in Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and within Israel.
Hamas, the Palestinian faction that governs Gaza, said it had begun firing rockets at Israel in response to the Israeli crackdown.
Israel justified the strike against the al-Jalaa building on Saturday, saying the building contained Hamas military assets – they strongly denounced the claim.
“We call on the international community to condemn the brutal actions and condemnations of journalists and immediately call for international action for Israel to be held accountable for deliberately targeting journalists and media organizations,” said Dr. Mostefa Souag, Acting Director of Al Jazeera Media. he said in a note after the attack.
Associated Press president and CEO Gary Pruitt said the news agency was “shocked and horrified” by the strike, and said the Israeli military “has long known where our office is and that journalists are there.”
“The development is extremely worrying. We avoided the loss of life tremendously. There were a dozen AP journalists and self-employed people inside the building and we were fortunately able to evacuate in time,” Pruitt said. he said.
‘Silence story’
This is not the first time Israel has targeted military organizations and journalists in its military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
In 2014, the Palestinian rights group Al Haq said that “discriminatory attacks on media buildings have been a significant feature” in the year of Israel’s military attack on Palestinian territory, the United Nations he said It killed more than 1,500 Palestinian civilians, including more than 500 children.
“To ensure that the coordinates of the media buildings were equipped with Israel to ensure their protection, any direct attack on these buildings constitutes a legal violation of humanitarian law,” Al Haq he said at that hour.
Al Jazeera’s top political analyst Marwan Bishara said the bombing on Saturday was not just in Al Jazeera, nor did the journalists themselves warn them to leave the building an hour before the next strike began.
“The attack is against journalism, the attack is against information – freedom of information and flow,” Bishara said.
“Turning off the international news in Gaza, the way it happened, with such tragic images … brings up all the mantras about Israeli freedom of expression, democracy, human rights and freedom of information.”
Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), he said the attacks “seem to be deliberately targeting Israeli media facilities” in order to disrupt coverage of human suffering in Gaza.
The Israeli army bombed two Gaza City office buildings on May 11 and 12, covering more than a dozen CPJ media outlets. reported earlier in the week, citing news and local Palestinian journalists.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Dear, undersecretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said the justifications for Israel’s bombing on Saturday are far from over. “We believe it is a deliberate attempt to silence the story being told from Gaza,” Maite told Al Jazeera.
“This is the third attack on a tower that includes various media outlets. We have also recorded the incidents in which 30 journalists were beaten or arrested. It is clear that this is not an accident, this is a systematic target of the Gaza media to prevent reporting from there.”
This was said by Barbara Trionfi, executive director of the Vienna-based International Press Institute, who said the attack was “absolutely horrific”. “Whatever the reasons behind this attack, they are completely unacceptable,” Trionfi told Al Jazeera.
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