The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to kill and target journalists following the resumption of the genocidal war committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for over 17 months now. By this, Israel intends to kill the eyewitnesses to the crime of genocide it is committing at the world’s watch. PCHR believes that the ongoing targeting and killing of journalists, along with the significant surge in the number of journalists killed, undoubtedly prove that the killings are deliberate and intentional, being an integral part of the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
In continuation of their crimes, on Monday, 24 March 2025, the IOF killed two journalists in in two separate strikes. This morning, Mohammed Mansour, a reporter at Palestine Today TV, was killed, while his wife was injured after their house in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, was targeted. In the afternoon, another airstrike targeted a vehicle belonging to Husam Shabat, a journalist collaborating with Al Jazeera Channel, resulting in his death.
It is worth noting that last week, the IOF have killed three journalists in an airstrike targeting a group of aid workers in northern al-Attatra area, northwest of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza Strip. The airstrike killed six Palestinians, including three journalists: Mahmoud Khaled Misbah al-Bassous (20), a freelance photographer at Anadolu Agency; Bilal Mohammed Khalil Abu Matar (35), a video editor; and Mahmoud Yahya Rushdi al-Saraj (24), a photographer.
The number of journalists killed by IOF since 07 October 2023 has risen to 208, 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, while others were killed while on duty. Additionally, 185 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 incited against them and threatened to kill them if they did not remain silent.
PCHR asserts that the targeting of journalists intends to isolate the victims 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 reiterates that journalists enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law, akin to civilians. According to Article 79 of Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions, which codifies a rule of customary international law, “journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in zones of armed conflict are civilians within the meaning of Article 50 (1). “As such, they enjoy the full scope of protection granted to civilians under international human rights law, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Israel has ratified but refuses to apply to the occupied territory, just as it denies the applicability of international humanitarian law.
PCHR emphasizes that the willful killing of journalists constitutes a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Article 8 of the ICC Rome Statute. Such an act also constitutes arbitrary deprivation of life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the perpetrators must be held accountable. The targeting of journalists is also a violation of the right to freedom of press and freedom of expression as guaranteed under international human rights law, particularly Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of the ICCPR.
In light of these violations, 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, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR also calls on the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor to expedite concrete measures to complete the investigation into crimes committed in Palestine, including the killings of journalists who risk their lives to expose the truth. Furthermore, PCHR urges the ICC Prosecutor to take decisive steps, as victims in Palestine have long awaited justice and redress. Additionally, PCHR calls on the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression to scale up efforts to safeguard this fundamental right and to investigate the IOF’s crimes against journalists and media outlets in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
