A smoke plume erupts during Israeli bombardment near a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Nov 8, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (PHOTO / AFP)
The ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict has become the deadliest period for journalists and aid workers, with experts calling for a return to respecting international humanitarian laws and for an immediate ceasefire amid the worsening security situation and lack of protection for civilians.
According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which has been investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing, the flare-up in Middle East violence since Oct 7 “has led to the deadliest month for journalists” since the non-governmental organization began gathering data in 1992.
As per the CPJ’s update on Nov 7, 39 journalists and media workers have so far been confirmed dead, with 34 of them being Palestinians, while four were Israelis and one was Lebanese. Meanwhile, eight journalists have also been reported injured, and three missing while nine have been arrested
As per the CPJ’s update on Nov 7, 39 journalists and media workers have so far been confirmed dead, with 34 of them being Palestinians, while four were Israelis and one was Lebanese. Meanwhile, eight journalists have also been reported injured, and three missing while nine have been arrested.
In a statement posted on its website, the CPJ emphasized that journalists “are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties”.
Those in Gaza, in particular, “have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll” and face exponential threats with many having lost colleagues, families, and media facilities, and seeking safety “when there is no safe haven or exit”, it said.
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“Many of the journalists move to places where they think it’s safe, like hospitals and United Nations-run schools,” Mohammad Abualrob, assistant professor and chairperson of the Department of Media at Birzeit University in the West Bank, told China Daily.
“But lately, hospitals as well as United Nations-run schools have also been targeted,” he added.
Abualrob also said that Israel’s total blockade of Gaza was preventing foreign journalists from getting in and covering the conflict adequately, and many civilians have turned to social media platforms like TikTok to share their stories on the ground.
Abualrob said he believes, that given the death toll of Palestinian journalists, there may be a deliberate intent to target them, along with the healthcare workers and teams who have been working in the field of serving civilians and injured people. The claim cannot be ascertained yet by China Daily.
“Several doctors and ambulances (are also) being targeted by Israelis,” said Abualrob, noting that such targeting marks violation of international law.
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At a press briefing on Nov 6, UN Secretary Antonio Guterres said the nightmare in Gaza “is more than a humanitarian crisis” and that it “is a crisis of humanity”.
“Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children … More journalists have reportedly been killed over a four-week period than in any conflict in at least three decades. More United Nations aid workers have been killed than in any comparable period in the history of our organization,” said Guterres.
On Nov 5, the heads of 18 UN and other humanitarian organizations issued a joint statement calling for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza, saying “Enough is enough” and “this must stop now."
They noted that scores of aid workers have been killed since Oct 7, including 88 UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees colleagues — the highest number of UN worker fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict.
Hussein Hassan, an international aid worker who is an advocate of humanitarian access in crisis affected countries, told China Daily that it is very unfortunate that a significant number of humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza.
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“These aid workers have risked their lives to provide vital aid to civilians and they are exposing themselves to aggressive airstrikes, bullets, and rockets. Killing them would jeopardize the continuity of critical humanitarian assistance,” said Hassan.
He said things were becoming more complicated day by day, and instead of ceasing the hostilities, the violence “is increasing and expanding every day”.
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Nov 7 that 16 healthcare workers had died on duty in Gaza, and called for a lifting of restrictions on medical aid, Reuters reported.
