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SvennoJ 5 hours ago
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One year on, Israel responsible for record journalist death toll: US watchdog

The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that at least 128 journalists and media workers, all but five of them Palestinian, have been killed – more journalists than have died in the course of any year since it began documenting journalist killings in 1992.

“All of the killings, except two, were carried out by Israeli forces. CPJ has found that at least five journalists were specifically targeted by Israel for their work and is investigating at least 10 more cases of deliberate targeting. Two Israeli journalists were killed in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas,” the watchdog said.

The killings, along with censorship, arrests, the continued ban on independent media access into Gaza, persistent internet shutdowns, the destruction of media outlets, and displacement of the Gaza media community, have severely restricted reporting on the war and hampered documentation, CPJ said.

As of Friday, CPJ’s research was able to confirm the following:

  • Eleven percent of the journalists killed were female, and the majority of all killed were under 40 years old.
  • Three-quarters of the Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes. The rest were killed by other types of fire, including drone strikes, tank fire, shootings and fire of unknown type.
  • At least 66 Palestinian journalists have been arrested by Israel.
  • On a per capita basis, Israeli authorities now hold the highest number of detained journalists in the world in a given year over the past two decades, followed by Turkey, Iran and China
  • The number of international journalists able to enter Gaza to independently cover the war since October 7 is one.

And still it's the most documented, live streamed genocide ever. Everyone with a smart phone is a reporter nowadays.

War in Lebanon has demoralised families of captives

The war in Lebanon has demoralised the public that supports the families of Israeli captives. The rally organised by those families was cancelled last week. It is being held in smaller numbers.

Today, we saw a few gather in Tel Aviv and they’re scheduled to gather a little later on in the evening in West Jerusalem.

They accuse the prime minister of sidelining the issue of their family members – of not giving it the priority it deserves, and completely discarding the possibility of releasing those captives and keeping them alive – and instead focusing on pounding Lebanon and possibly confronting and striking at Iran.

A lot of frustration on the Israeli side, although mainstream, there is wide support for this escalation in Lebanon, and even support for a strategic strike against Iran – despite the fact that this may have wide-ranging consequences.



Translation: Documentation from the demonstration of the families of the abducted in front of the President’s House: a policeman snatched a loudspeaker from the hands of Shanir Dan, the uncle of the late [Israeli captive] Carmel Gat, while he was speaking

It seems the hostages have been abandoned, just like Gaza has been abandoned by the international community.


Israel’s greatest duty to secure captives release: Herzog

Israeli President Isaac Herzog says there is no greater duty than returning the captives still held in Gaza back home.

Delivering a televised message in advance of the one-year anniversary October 7 Hamas attacks, the president also said the “highest alliance between the state and its citizens is to maintain their safety, and to return them home”.

“It’s incumbent on the decision-makers … to do everything for this,” he added.

Critics have repeatedly accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to do enough to secure the release of captives in the Strip, favouring instead to extend the conflict for his own political survival.

On October 7, 239 people were taken captive during the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. As part of a temporary truce in November, 105 of them were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. According to the Israeli military, 109 captives remain in Gaza, but only 73 are believed to still be alive.

Not doing much for the safety of your citizens either...