AMMAN: With the war on Gaza taking a heavy toll on journalists, international press bodies have condemned the killing of media workers and called for an independent investigation into their deaths.
Palestinian and Arab press organizations have gone further, saying they would sue Israel for its “war crimes” against the Palestinian people and journalists.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said that more than 30 journalists have been killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7, when Israel began retaliatory air, sea and land strikes following the attack by Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades.
The syndicate said that the slain journalists included Mohammed Ali, Khalil Abu Athrah, Samih Al-Nadi, Issam Bahar, Mohammed Baloushah, Abdulhadi Habib, Hussam Mubarak, Ahmad Shihab, Mohammed Fayez, Yousef Abu Mattar, Said Taweel, Mohammed Suboh, Hisham Al-Nawajhah, Asad Shamlakh, Mohammad Al-Salhi, Ibrahim Lafi and Mohammad Jarghoun.
The PJS also said it had lost contact with journalist Nidal Al-Wahidi from Al-Najah news channel and photojournalist Haitham Abdelwahid from Ain Media.
The International Federation of Journalists denounced Israel’s “frequent assaults” on journalists in the West Bank and Gaza, calling for an “immediate investigation.”
The Brussels-based IFJ said that at least 38 journalists and media workers had been killed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, while several have been injured and others left missing.
The federation said it is working closely with the PJS to verify information in real time.
“On Oct. 13, the IFJ and its affiliates worldwide called on UNESCO to do its utmost to protect journalists and demand that the warring parties de-escalate the violence.”
Reporters Without Borders also condemned the killing of journalists, which it labeled as “crimes.”
It called on all parties to ensure that journalists are protected by UN Security Council Resolution 2222.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was investigating all reports surrounding journalist casualties in the war on Gaza, which “has led to the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
“As of Nov. 10, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 40 journalists and media workers were among the more than 12,000 killed since the war began on Oct. 7,” CPJ said in a statement.
Journalists in Gaza face exceptional risk as they try to cover the conflict amid Israel’s ground assault on Gaza City and devastating airstrikes, as well as disrupted communications and extensive power outages.
CPJ said that the 40 journalists and media workers included 35 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese national. A further eight journalists were reported injured, three were reported missing and 13 have been arrested.
The Federation of Arab Journalists also denounced the Israeli attacks on journalists, saying it would lodge an official complaint to the UN to take legal action against the occupation forces.
The Cairo-based body said it had set up an online platform to document Israeli attacks on journalists and unarmed civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, in order to report them to international rights bodies for legal action.
The pan-Arab federation added that it will organize an emergency meeting with the IFJ and other international press bodies to discuss journalist casualties and agree on a mechanism to sue the “criminals” through the relevant international agencies.
A Palestinian TV journalist working in Gaza said she had lacked adequate sleep, food and water for more than a month.
Requesting anonymity, the journalist added that she was considering quitting her job, “at least for now,” in order to focus on providing shelter and food for her family.
“The war and the Israeli airstrikes are so intense that I don’t feel safe anywhere and anymore. I have family to care for and ensure their safety,” the mother of three said.
“Two of my colleagues were martyred, and one of them was the cameraman who accompanied me while doing my reportage near a hospital (in Gaza) some two weeks ago.”
Global media organizations demand probe into journalists killed in Gaza
https://arab.news/g3mra
Global media organizations demand probe into journalists killed in Gaza
- Investigation finds 40 worker deaths, with groups vowing to sue Israel over ‘war crimes’
- The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said that more than 30 journalists have been killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank
UN to vote again on Gaza ceasefire, US plans unclear
- The few resolutions that the United States did allow to pass by abstaining stopped short of calling for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire
- The latest draft of the resolution demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the war between Israel and Hamas
But the draft could be blocked by the United States, Israel’s main ally.
The latest draft of the resolution demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the war between Israel and Hamas and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
The wording has angered Israel and raised fears of a US veto.
Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon has called the text “shameful,” adding: “We cannot allow the UN to tie the hands of the State of Israel from protecting its citizens, and we will not stop fighting until we return all the kidnapped men and women home.”
“For us, it has to be a linkage between a ceasefire and the release of hostages,” said Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador. “It has been our principle position from the beginning and it still remains.”
The war was triggered by Palestinian group Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, a stunning cross-border raid that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll from the resulting war had reached 43,972 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Of 251 hostages seized during the October 7 attack, 97 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Almost all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced by the war, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
Since the beginning of the war, the Security Council has struggled to speak with one voice, as the United States used its veto power several times, although Russia and China have as well.
The few resolutions that the United States did allow to pass by abstaining stopped short of calling for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire.
In March, the council called for a temporary ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but this appeal was ignored by the warring parties.
In June, the council pledged support for a multi-stage US ceasefire and hostage release plan that went nowhere.
Some diplomats have expressed hope that following Donald Trump’s election win on November 5, President Joe Biden might be more flexible in the few weeks he has left in power.
They imagined a possible repeat of events in December 2016 when then-president Barack Obama was finishing his second term and the council passed a resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories, a first since 1979.
The United States refrained from using its veto in this case, a break from traditional US support for Israel on the sensitive issue of settlements.
The draft being voted on Wednesday also calls for “safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance at scale,” including in besieged northern Gaza, and denounces any attempt to starve the Palestinians.
The Palestinian delegation at the UN has suggested this text does not go far enough.
“Gaza’s fate will haunt the world for generations to come,” ambassador Riyad Mansour warned.
He said the only course of action for the council is to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire under Chapter 7 of the UN charter.
That chapter allows the council to take steps to enforce its resolutions, such as sanctions, but the latest text makes no reference to this option.
Netanyahu says Israel offering $5 mn reward for each Gaza hostage freed
- During Oct. 7, 2023 attack which triggered war in Gaza, Hamas took 251 hostages
- Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel was offering a reward of $5 million to anybody who brings out a hostage held in Gaza.
“Anybody who brings out a hostage will find with us a secure way for them and their family to leave” Gaza, Netanyahu said in a video filmed inside the Palestinian territory, according to his office.
“We will also give them a reward of $5 million for each hostage.”
Wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof jacket, Netanyahu spoke with his back to the Mediterranean in the Netzarim Corridor, Israel’s main military supply route which carves the Gaza Strip in two just south of Gaza City.
“Anyone who dares to do harm to our hostages is considered dead — we will pursue you and we will catch up with you,” he said.
Accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu underlined that one of Israel’s war aims remained that “Hamas does not rule in Gaza.”
“We are also making efforts to locate the hostages and bring them home. We won’t give up. We will continue until we’ve found them all, alive or dead.”
During Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which triggered the war in Gaza, militants took 251 hostages. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.
Netanyahu says Israel offering $5 mn reward for each Gaza hostage freed
- “Anybody who brings out a hostage will find with us a secure way for them and their family to leave” Gaza, Netanyahu says
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel was offering a reward of $5 million to anybody who brings out a hostage held in Gaza.
“Anybody who brings out a hostage will find with us a secure way for them and their family to leave” Gaza, Netanyahu said in a video filmed inside the Palestinian territory, according to his office.
“We will also give them a reward of $5 million for each hostage.”
Wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof jacket, Netanyahu spoke with his back to the Mediterranean in the Netzarim Corridor, Israel’s main military supply route which carves the Gaza Strip in two just south of Gaza City.
“Anyone who dares to do harm to our hostages is considered dead — we will pursue you and we will catch up with you,” he said.
Accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu underlined that one of Israel’s war aims remained that “Hamas does not rule in Gaza.”
“We are also making efforts to locate the hostages and bring them home. We won’t give up. We will continue until we’ve found them all, alive or dead.”
During Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which triggered the war in Gaza, militants took 251 hostages. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.
Turkiye’s Erdogan says Israel’s Herzog was denied airspace en route to Azerbaijan
- “In light of the situation assessment and for security reasons, the President of the State has decided to cancel his trip to the Climate Conference in Azerbaijan,” the Israeli presidency said
ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkiye refused to allow Israeli President Isaac Herzog to use its airspace to attend the COP climate summit in Azerbaijan, highlighting Ankara’s stance amid tensions with Israel.
“We did not allow the Israeli president to use our airspace to attend the COP summit. We suggested alternative routes and other options,” Erdogan told reporters at the G20 Summit in Brazil.
Herzog ended up canceling the visit.
“In light of the situation assessment and for security reasons, the President of the State has decided to cancel his trip to the Climate Conference in Azerbaijan,” the Israeli presidency said. Israel launched a devastating war against Hamas in Gaza a year ago after the Palestinian Islamist group’s deadly cross-border attack.
Turkiye withdrew its ambassador in Israel for consultations after the Gaza war broke out, but has not officially severed its ties with Israel and its embassy remains open and operational.
“But whether he was able to go or not, I honestly don’t know,” Erdogan said on Herzog’s visit to Baku.
“On certain matters, as Turkiye, we are compelled to take a stand, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
Hospital chief decries ‘extreme catastrophe’ in north Gaza
- Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safiyeh told AFP by phone: “The situation in northern Gaza is that of an extreme catastrophe
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: The World Health Organization expressed grave concern on Tuesday for hospitals still partly operating in war-stricken northern Gaza, where one hospital director described the situation as an “extreme catastrophe.”
“We are very, very concerned, and it’s getting harder and harder to get the aid in. It’s getting harder and harder to get the specialist personnel in at a time when there is greater and greater need,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told journalists in Geneva.
She said the organization was “particularly concerned about Kamal Adwan Hospital” in Beit Lahia, where Israeli forces launched an offensive against Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups last month.
Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safiyeh told AFP by phone: “The situation in northern Gaza is that of an extreme catastrophe.
“We’re beginning to lose patients because we lack medical supplies and personnel,” he said.
Abu Safiyeh added that his hospital had been “targeted many times by the occupation forces, most recently” on Monday.
“A large number of children and elderly people continue to arrive suffering from malnutrition,” the doctor said.
He accused Israel of “blocking the entry of food, water, medical staff and materials destined for the north” of the Gaza Strip.
The WHO’s Harris estimated that between November 8 and 16, “four WHO missions we were trying to get up to go were denied.”
“There’s a lack of food and drinking water, shortage of medical supplies. There’s really only enough for two weeks at the very best,” she said.
A statement from COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said Tuesday: “COGAT-led humanitarian efforts in the medical field continue.”
It said that on Monday, “1,000 blood units were transferred” to Al-Sahaba hospital in Gaza City, outside the area where Israel’s military operations are taking place.
In its latest update on the situation in northern Gaza, the UN humanitarian office OCHA said Tuesday that “access to the Kamal Adwan, Al Awda and Indonesian hospitals remains severely restricted amid severe shortages of medical supplies, fuel and blood units.”
