AP, Reuters demand answers from Israeli government on airstrike that killed journalists last monthBy DAVID BAUDERAP Media WriterThe Associated PressNEW YORK
NEW YORK (AP) — Two major news agencies demanded that Israel explain what happened during a strike on a hospital in Gaza last month that killed five journalists, calling for concrete actions and accountability to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Reuters and The Associated Press — through their top editors, Alessandra Galloni and Julie Pace — urged the Israeli government to “explain the deaths of these journalists and to take every step to protect those who continue to cover this conflict.” Their statement came on the one-month anniversary of the strike.
Killed in the strikes were five journalists, including visual journalist Mariam Dagga, who worked for AP and other news organizations; Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri; and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist whose work had been published by Reuters. Seventeen others were killed in the strike.
“We renew our demand for a clear account from the Israeli authorities and urge the government to uphold its obligations to ensure press freedom and protection,” the statement from the AP and Reuters said. “We remain devastated and outraged by their deaths."
The journalists died at the Nasser Hospital, which the agencies pointed out is a location protected under international law and “widely known to be crucial for news coverage out of Gaza.”
“An incident of this gravity requires a prompt and clear explanation, followed by accountability and concrete actions to ensure such attacks are never repeated,” the statement said.
The two agencies wrote a joint letter immediately after the attack, but Israel has not responded. The Israeli military said it launched an investigation into the incident.
The Gaza war has been deadly for those covering it. An estimated 239 journalists and media workers have been killed in the region since the attacks by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Comparatively, 18 journalists have been killed so far in Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to the CPJ.
In August, al-Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif was killed in an Israeli attack on a tent where journalists were staying in Gaza. Al-Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal were killed in the same attack, along with two free-lance journalists.
CPJ has called on the international community to “take immediate action to end the unlawful attacks on journalists, grant international media independent access to Gaza to be able to investigate and report what is happening without fear of censorship or assassination, and hold Israel accountable.”
The BBC, together with AP, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, this week released a short film advocating for access by international journalists in Gaza. BBC journalist David Dimbleby narrates the film, which uses historical images to highlight the importance of journalism.
The film premiered Wednesday in New York at an event hosted by CPJ, tied to the U.N. General Assembly's meeting of world leaders this week.
AP reporting on the attack on the hospital raised serious questions about Israel’s rationale for the strikes and the way they were carried out.
The agencies' statement was issued a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly during its annual leaders' meeting.
Dagga, 33, was among the war’s victims. She and the four other reporters were killed when Israeli forces struck Nasser Hospital in the Gaza town of Khan Younis, along with 17 other people.
The Israeli military said it targeted what it believed was a Hamas surveillance camera in the hospital attack, without providing evidence, and that the journalists weren’t the targets. The prime minister called the attack a ‘"mishap.’’
