ICSPR Assassination of Journalists and Forced Displacement in Gaza Constitute Ongoing War Crimes Within a Systematic Genocide
Date: 22 January 2025
Press Statement
ICSPR: Assassination of Journalists and Forced Displacement in Gaza Constitute Ongoing War Crimes Within a Systematic Genocide
The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) affirms that the continued targeting of civilians and journalists in the Gaza Strip, and the killing of eleven people since the morning of Wednesday, 21 January 2026, including three journalists, alongside the ongoing daily military violations by Israeli occupation forces and their direct targeting of civilians, constitutes a clear and systematic continuation of the genocide in Gaza.
ICSPR strongly condemns the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation in targeting the vehicle of journalists working for the Egyptian Relief Committee in central Gaza while they were performing a professional and humanitarian mission to document one of the shelter centers in Al-Zahra City under the Egyptian Relief Committee. This attack resulted in the deaths of journalists: Abdul-Raouf Samir Shaat, Mohammad Salah Qashta, and Anas Abdullah Ghanim. This deliberate targeting constitutes a fully-fledged war crime and a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which guarantee special protection for journalists during armed conflicts.
ICSPR notes that this crime is part of a systematic policy adopted by the Israeli occupation aimed at erasing the truth, silencing independent Palestinian reporting, and suppressing the documentation of genocide, starvation, widespread destruction, and attacks on civilians and humanitarian infrastructure, in a desperate attempt to conceal evidence and facts from the international public, especially in light of the growing international condemnation of crimes committed in Gaza.
ICSPR emphasizes that the killing of the three journalists raises the total number of Palestinian journalists killed to 260 since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, including 56 journalists in 2025 alone, in addition to more than 420 injured journalists, at least 50 arrested and tortured, and three whose fate remains unknown. This unprecedented global toll reflects the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalism and constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and international legal standards.
ICSPR documented a series of Israeli violations today that resulted in 11 deaths and 6 injuries across various areas in Gaza, raising the total number of civilian martyrs and injured persons since the ceasefire agreement came into force on 10 October 2025 to 483 martyrs and 1,287 injured, alongside widespread destruction of infrastructure and obstruction of humanitarian aid, fuel, mobile homes, and caravans. These actions exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe and confirm that policies of killing, starvation, and terror continue to be used as tools of a deliberate war.
The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) warns of the dangerous escalation coinciding with these crimes, represented by the issuance of forced eviction orders against at least 70 Palestinian families in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Yunis, alongside ongoing artillery shelling, demolition, and leveling operations in the town and surrounding areas under occupation control. These practices aim to expand military control and impose new field realities through the systematic advance of the so-called “yellow line.” ICSPR affirms that such practices constitute prohibited forced displacement under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and represent a direct extension of the policies of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment.
ICSPR holds the Israeli occupation fully and directly responsible for these crimes, emphasizing that impunity, international silence, and the failure of the international protection system have collectively provided a dangerous cover for the continuation and escalation of these crimes. Accordingly, ICSPR calls for the following urgent actions:
First: The international community and mediators must work to impose a comprehensive, permanent, and binding ceasefire, halt all Israeli violations, ensure the opening of crossings without restrictions, and allow the immediate and unconditional entry of humanitarian aid, shelter materials, fuel, and medical supplies to save lives and prevent the worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe.
Second: The International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union, and UNESCO must convene an urgent international conference dedicated to the protection of journalists in armed conflicts, condemn the systematic crimes committed against journalists in Gaza, adopt practical mechanisms for monitoring and protection, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.
Third: The urgent establishment and deployment of an effective international protection force or mechanism with a clear mandate to protect civilians, journalists, and humanitarian institutions, ensuring that such crimes are not repeated, operating under international law and independent UN supervision.
Fourth: The International Criminal Court must accelerate investigations and issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials involved in targeting civilians and journalists, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, with States Parties fully cooperating and fulfilling their legal obligations to the Court.
