Reuters and AP demand answers from Israeli officials after airstrikes kill journalists
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The fourth floor of Nasser Medical Complex was damaged after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Aug. 25. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
Top editors from Reuters and the Associated Press on Tuesday sent a joint letter to Israeli officials demanding a "clear explanation" for airstrikes on a Gaza hospital that killed five journalists on Monday.
Why it matters: The deaths underscore growing fears that Israel's Gaza campaign is endangering journalists at unprecedented levels, threatening global press freedom.
- Journalists are civilians under international humanitarian law and should not be directly targeted in attacks.
What they're saying: "We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law," Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni and AP executive editor and senior vice president Julie Pace wrote in their joint statement.
- "These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness. Their work is especially vital in light of Israel's nearly two-year ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza."
- The letter was directed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and director of the government press office Nitzan Chen.
Zoom in: While Israel Defense Forces say they are investigating the strikes, Pace and Galloni said that they have found the IDF's willingness and ability to investigate itself in past incidents "to rarely result in clarity and action, raising serious questions including whether Israel is deliberately targeting live feeds in order to suppress information."
- In the joint statement, they say freelance visual journalists Mariam Dagga and Moaz Abu Taha, who worked for AP and Reuters, respectively, as well other outlets during the war, were among the group of 20 people killed during Monday's attacks.
- Cameraman Hussam al-Masri, a contractor for Reuters, was also killed, per the letter. Photographer Hatem Khaled, another contractor for Reuters, was wounded.
The big picture: Press freedom groups have been quick to condemn Israeli attacks on Gaza that have resulted in journalist deaths.
- On Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists' regional director Sara Qudah said Israel's attacks are "the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced in recent history." The group has labeled those attacks and other recent strikes that have killed journalists in Gaza as "murders."
- "How long will they continue to defy international humanitarian law?" Reporters Without Borders director general Thibaut Bruttin asked in a statement Monday.
By the numbers: The recent deaths bring the total number of journalists killed in the Israel-Gaza war to 197, per CPJ.
- By comparison, 20 journalists have been killed in Ukraine and Russia combined since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
What's next: Bruttin says the group is calling for a UN Security Council meeting to ensure that a resolution passed in 2015 that requires states to protect journalists "is finally respected," and that "concrete measures are taken to end impunity for crimes against journalists, protect Palestinian journalists, and open access to the Gaza Strip to all reporters."
