The Palestinian International Organization for Peace and Human Rights holds “Israel,” the occupying state, fully responsible for the crime it committed at dawn on Thursday, when its aircraft directly and deliberately targeted the broadcast vehicle of Al-Quds satellite channel, in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, which led to the martyrdom of five journalists while they were performing their media and professional duties: Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, Muhammad Al-Lad’ah, Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan and Ayman Al-Jadi. Thus, the number of journalists killed in the context of the war of extermination has risen to 201, according to data from the government media office in the Strip.

Targeting journalists is a war crime that is added to the ongoing and systematic crimes of the occupation against journalists and media workers, and a flagrant violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as journalists enjoy full protection as civilians under the provisions of international humanitarian law.

The silence of the international community encourages the Israeli occupation state to commit more of its ongoing crimes against Palestinian civilians. The organization calls for the implementation and respect of UN Security Council Resolution No. 1738 of 2006, which called for an end to attacks on journalists, media outlets and associated personnel, as they are civilians who must be protected and respected. Targeting journalists is considered an intentional attack against civilians, which constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity. Accordingly, the organization demands:

• The International Criminal Court should open an immediate investigation into the occupation’s crimes against journalists and take legal measures to prosecute and hold accountable the perpetrators.
• The occupying state must allow international journalists and representatives of news agencies to enter the Gaza Strip and practice their work freely and without threat.
• The international community and human rights organizations to exert pressure and take the necessary measures to provide protection for Palestinian journalists and stop the occupation’s crimes against them.
• The Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence to carry out his mandate and include the crimes of the occupation against Palestinian journalists in a special and independent report.
• The High Contracting Parties to the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 to stand up to their legal and moral obligations, condemn the deliberate attacks by the occupying state against journalists, and take the necessary measures and pressure on it to ensure their safety, security and freedom to carry out journalistic work.
• Independent Expert on the fight against impunity to urge States Parties to the United Nations to initiate criminal proceedings against perpetrators of crimes against journalists, bring them to justice and provide redress to victims.
• International organizations and those concerned with journalistic work, especially the International Federation of Journalists, to prosecute military leaders and those involved in committing war crimes in international courts, and to exert pressure to stop the crimes of comprehensive genocide in the Strip, and to stop the killing and targeting of Palestinian journalists within its framework.

Third party states to take action to investigate the crimes of the occupation in preparation for holding accountable the Israeli political and military leaders, and all those involved in committing them, and ensuring that they are not repeated.