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August marked by record killings of Palestinian journalists
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate says August was one of the deadliest months yet for media workers with 15 journalists killed by Israeli forces, including three women.
In a report, the syndicate’s Freedoms Committee documented 86 violations against journalists in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip during the month. These included killings, injuries, arrests, assaults and the targeting of homes and media offices.
The women killed were Maryam Abu Daqqa, Islam Abed and Marwa Muslim. At least nine journalists were wounded, some suffering permanent disabilities such as amputations and paralysis.
Six were killed in a single strike near al-Shifa Hospital on August 10, including Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent Anas al-Sharif, and five more in an attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on August 25.
Dozens were prevented from covering events, while several reporters faced direct assaults, attacks by Israelis from illegal settlements, and online incitement that preceded their killings.
“The targeting of Palestinian journalists has become a systematic policy aimed not only at silencing the truth but also erasing the Palestinian cause itself,” said Mohammed al-Lahham, head of the syndicate’s Freedoms Committee.
Questions surround Israeli attack on Gaza hospital that killed journalists
The Associated Press has called into question the rationale behind Israeli attacks on a Gaza hospital last month that killed five Palestinian journalists.
AP said the top of the building struck by the Israeli military was “well known as a journalists’ gathering point”, and witnesses described Israel “frequently” observing the area by drone, “including about 40 minutes before the attack”.
The US news agency said its findings revealed the army used “high-explosive tank shells” to strike the hospital. “In all, Israel struck the hospital four times, the AP found, each time without warning,” it said.
Mariam Dagga, who worked for AP and other news organisations, was killed in the attack. Consecutive Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on August 25 killed 22 people, including the five journalists.
