The Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) continue the killing and targeting of journalists and their families, as part of the crime of genocide Israel is committing against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for over 19 months. By this, Israel intends to kill the eyewitnesses to its crime of genocide being committed at the world’s watch. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) asserts that the ongoing targeting and killing of journalists, along with their families, leaves no doubt that these acts are deliberate, intended to intimidate and silence journalists and prevent them from conveying the truth to the world. Such targeted attacks are part of the crime of genocide Israel is committing in the Gaza Strip.
In continuation of their crimes, at approximately 02:40 on Thursday, 15 May 2025, the IOF launched an airstrike on a tent for displaced people in Bani Suhaila village, east of Khan Yunis. As a result, journalist Hasan Marzouq Samour (45), a presenter and program producer at Al-Aqsa Radio in Gaza, was killed, along with 13 members of his family, including his elderly mother Khadija Samour, his wife, Suha Akram Samour (35), their children, Karmel (2 months), Sham (9). Rakan (12), and Suhaib (15), along with his brother’s family.
With the killing of Samour, the number of journalists killed by IOF since 07 October 2023 has risen to 216, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. This war has taken a record toll since the recording of journalist fatalities started in 1992. Among those killed were 13 female journalists. Meanwhile, the majority of journalists were killed in Israeli warplane and drone airstrikes, and the remaining were shot dead by Israeli snipers. Most journalists were killed alongside their families in targeted attacks on their homes, while others were killed in indiscriminate bombings throughout the ongoing genocide. Some journalists were directly targeted and killed while others were killed onduty. Additionally, 194 journalists have been injured under various circumstances during the aggression. Moreover, a large number of social media activists have been targeted by the IOF, who systematically incite against them and threaten to kill them if they do not remain silent.
PCHR asserts that the targeting of journalists intends to isolate the victim and prevent the documentation of Israel’s genocidal acts against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Thus, PCHR calls on the international community to openly condemn the targeting of journalists, to exert pressure on Israel, the occupying power, to immediately stop these attacks, and to urgently provide international protection for civilians, including journalists, in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR emphasizes that the deliberate killing of journalists is a war crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Article 8 of the ICC’s Rome Statute. It also constitutes arbitrary deprivation of life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the perpetrators must be held accountable. Moreover, targeting journalists constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of the press and freedom of expression, which are guaranteed under international human rights law, especially Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In light of the above, PCHR calls on the international community to pressure the occupying power to immediately stop targeting journalists and to take immediate action to provide international protection for civilians, including journalists, in the Gaza Strip. PCHR also urges the international community to exert pressure on Israel to stop its crimes, comply with the rules of international law, and provide protection for civilians. PCHR also calls upon the international journalists’ organizations, including the International Federation of Journalists, to act urgently to push towards holding Israel accountable for the killing and targeting of journalists in Palestine.
PCHR also calls on the ICC Prosecutor to expedite the issuance of tangible measures to accomplish the investigation into the situation of the State of Palestine, including killings of journalists who pay their lives as a cost for exposing the truth especially that the victims in Palestine have long awaited justice and accountability. PCHR also urges the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression to scale up efforts to protect the right to freedom of opinion and expression and investigate crimes committed by IOF against journalists and media outlets in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
