TOKYO: The Freedom of the Press Committee of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan has issued a statement condemning the killing of journalists and their relatives in the Gaza Strip by Israel.
The statement condemned “the reckless disregard for the lives of journalists in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war” and noted “with deep concern reports that in some cases the families of journalists appear to have been targeted by Israeli forces.”
The FCCJ referred to Al-Jazeera reports detailing the killing of 22 family members of Gazan correspondent Moamen Al-Sharafi when the Israeli military shelled the Jabalia Camp on December 6 in the northern Gaza Strip, a place where Al-Sharafi’s “father, mother, three siblings and his children had sought refuge.”
Al-Sharafi was on duty elsewhere in Gaza when the bombing occurred.
Also referenced was the killing on October 25 of the wife, daughter, and grandson of Wael Dahdouh, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief for Gaza, after an Israel airstrike hit the Nuseirat refugee camp.
“.. In Gaza, 63 journalists and media workers (56 Palestinians, 4 Israelis, and 3 Lebanese) have been killed, with another 11 journalists injured and three missing, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists,” the FCCJ statement said.
The statement pointed out that the death toll of the past eight weeks had surpassed the combined number of 15 journalists killed in 2022 covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the 30 journalists killed during the height of the Syrian war, regarded as two of the deadliest recent war zones.
It added a quote from Sherif Mansour, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa: “The Israeli army has refused to take any responsibility for the killings, saying to the international media organizations that they cannot guarantee the safety of the media or their employees.”
In conclusion, the statement from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan said: “The FCCJ urges all parties in the Israel-Hamas war to stop targeting journalists and to respect their work. We call for the Israeli authorities to thoroughly investigate all the incidents cited in this report.”
