“Our journalists are paying the price. They are killed every day. We want this occupation to end. We want the genocide and the killing of journalists to stop. The EU is complicit in their killing.”
These words, from Yousef Habash, President of the European branch of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS-Europe), resonated with the crowd gathered on 26 August, at Mont des Arts in Brussels, to honour the 219 journalists who have lost their lives while informing the world about the massive killing of the population in Gaza.
The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), together with Palestinian (PJS), Belgian (AJP-VVJ) and British and Irish (NUJ) unions and associations, joined forces in a solidarity action. They publicly read out the names of journalists and media workers who have been murdered in Gaza, since the beginning of the war on 7 October 2023.
In his opening speech, Belgian film director and journalist Thierry Michel recalled that the 219 journalists have paid with their lives to bear witness to the horrors perpetrated by Israeli forces against the Palestinians: “Journalists can be killed, but the truth cannot. They continue to work and bear witness through us,” he said.
Around 400 journalists and citizens took part in the demonstration to pay tribute to the journalists killed in Gaza. They also demanded that foreign journalists be allowed to enter the enclave, and they called for urgent action from the European Union and its Member States.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “Despite our reiterated calls, the impunity that protects Israel remains the norm. The Israeli government continues to violate all UN resolutions and prohibits foreign journalists from entering Gaza. In the last 22 months, our members in Gaza have informed the entire world, even as Israeli propaganda tries to deny their work and silence them. Our colleagues are working in appalling conditions on the ground. Let’s not forget them. Let’s not forget those who continue to inform us.”
Since mid-August, at least 14 journalists have been killed, including a targeted attack on a tent on 10 August that left five dead, and the latest Israeli double strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younes on 25 August, which killed another five.
The IFJ, the EFJ and their affiliates will continue to jointly condemn in the strongest possible terms the deliberate targeting of journalists, and they urge the international community to coerce Israel to end the mediacide in Gaza. In addition, they are calling for the adoption of an international convention for the safety and the independence of journalists, a convention that will force States to be held accountable for their crimes.
Image credit: NS/IFJ
This article was published first at the IFJ's website. You can read it here.
