Targeting Journalists Is a War Crime and an Israeli Strategy to Prevent Media Coverage It Must Be Stopped and Journalists Must Be Protected

Date: June 5, 2025

Press Release

Targeting Journalists Is a War Crime and an Israeli Strategy to Prevent Media Coverage It Must Be Stopped and Journalists Must Be Protected

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces on the morning of Thursday, June 5, 2025. The attack was carried out by an Israeli drone that targeted the journalists’ tent inside the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, resulting in the killing of four journalists: Suleiman Hajjaj and Ismail Bdaih, who worked for Palestine Today TV; Sameer Al-Rifai, a correspondent for Shams News Agency; and Ahmad Qalja, a cameraman for Alaraby TV. Additionally, journalist Imad Daloul was seriously injured. With the killing of these four journalists, the total number of journalists killed since October 7, 2023, has risen to 225, not including the large number of social media activists also targeted by the occupation.

The targeting of journalists and civilians inside Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital constitutes a compound war crime, as it took place within a hospital that is protected under international humanitarian law  a law that Israel has turned into mere ink on paper since the start of its genocide war. Israel has consistently and deliberately targeted hospitals, journalists, civilians, and civilian infrastructure in a repeated and systematic pattern as part of the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for over 20 months.

It is worth noting that, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, in the past 24 hours alone, hospitals in Gaza have received 70 martyrs and 189 injuries, due to the ongoing crimes and massacres committed daily by the Israeli occupation forces. These include the bombing of homes, displacement tents, shelters, hospitals, and targeting civilians on the roads a blatant disregard for Palestinians’ right to life. The war has led to over 70,000 martyrs and missing persons, most of whom are children, women, journalists, doctors, humanitarian workers, and the elderly. More than 125,000 people have been injured, and approximately 90% of homes, mosques, hospitals, infrastructure, public institutions, and economic sectors have been destroyed. Around 2 million citizens have been forcibly displaced, enduring a catastrophic humanitarian disaster due to Israeli collective punishment policies and obstruction of humanitarian aid, which has caused severe famine, lack of clean water, and widespread disease.

We at the International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemn the ongoing genocide and the international community’s blatant failure to take serious action to stop it. We also condemn the United States’ use of the veto power to block a recent Security Council resolution aimed at halting the genocide and facilitating humanitarian aid, which clearly confirms the U.S.’s full partnership in the crime of genocide.

We reiterate our strong condemnation of the Israeli crimes against journalists, and denounce Israel’s refusal to allow foreign media access to Gaza, which prevents the people of Gaza and the outside world from obtaining information. The attack on hospitals and journalists is a war crime intended to silence the truth, kill witnesses, and prevent media coverage that would expose the lies and crimes of genocide and aggression committed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza. These actions violate all international conventions and treaties  particularly the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and international humanitarian law, which guarantee general protection for civilians and civilian objects, and special protection for journalists, children, women, medical staff, and hospitals.

We commend the professional, courageous, and vital role of journalists working under dangerous and catastrophic conditions in Gaza. Their efforts to uncover the truth, document war crimes, and inform international public opinion deserve the highest recognition.

Accordingly, we call on:

1. The international community, the United Nations, civil society organizations, popular movements, the International and Arab Journalists’ Unions, the Red Cross, and all concerned parties around the world to take responsibility and act urgently to stop the genocide and aggression, and to provide international protection for journalists so they can continue their vital role in covering the ongoing crimes in Gaza.

2. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite practical steps to investigate crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories — especially the killings and targeting of civilians and journalists — to ensure perpetrators of genocide and war crimes do not escape punishment and that long-awaited justice is served for Palestinian victims.

3. The UN Human Rights Council and its Special Rapporteurs, particularly the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, to intensify efforts to protect freedom of expression and investigate Israeli crimes against journalists and media institutions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

4. The free people of the world — governments, organizations, and peoples — to boycott Israel and impose sanctions until it complies with international humanitarian law and halts its aggression and crimes against journalists and Palestinian civilians. This is part of the global struggle to end the Israeli occupation and enable the Palestinian people to attain their legitimate rights — foremost among them, the right to self-determination.