AS Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza intensifies, targeting and assassinating journalists is part of its genocidal campaign. Last week, four Al Jazeera journalists were killed in cold blood, among them Anas al-Sharif, the most prominent face on the global television network who had courageously been reporting on the catastrophic war and famine conditions in Gaza. The journalists were killed in a drone attack on a makeshift media tent outside Al-Shifa hospital. Targeting journalists is a war crime but Israel has acted with impunity and has long shown contempt for international humanitarian law or norms.

The Israeli military has been carrying out deliberate assaults on journalists since its war on Gaza began nearly two years ago. According to the UN, 242 journalists have been killed in that period, which is described as the highest number in any conflict. Israel’s military claimed responsibility for the murder of Anas al-Sharif saying he was a “Hamas terrorist” — a patently false allegation that Al Jazeera vehemently denied. Labelling journalists as militants is a disingenuous tactic Israel has always used. According to the Israeli-Palestinian news outlet ‘ 972 magazine’ Israel’s military has a special unit charged with identifying journalists to ‘smear’ as Hamas members and target them.

The killings of journalists sparked global outrage. UN Secretary General António Guterres denounced it and the UN’s Human Rights Office called it a grave breach of international law. Journalists’ bodies and human rights organisations, including........

© Dawn