Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a “March for Gaza” in New York on August 16, 2025. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / Leonardo Munoz / AFP)
The killing of journalists in Gaza by the Israeli military has further jolted a world reeling from the daily carnage and destruction in the Palestinian enclave. Five journalists, four of them Al Jazeera staff, including the popular Anas al-Sharif, died in the August 10 targeted airstrike.
This triggered a global response, with the United Kingdom and the UN calling for an independent investigation. A host of journalists’ organisations said the Israeli military assassinated Sharif for his extensive work on the Gaza bombardments and atrocities against civilians. Israel accused Sharif of heading a Hamas terrorist cell.
On Monday, Israeli forces reportedly killed 20 people at a Gaza hospital, including five journalists.
In solidarity, several countries, including Australia, France, and Canada, announced they would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. Others said they would follow suit. The UN Human Rights Office described the attack as “a breach of international law.”
Indeed, journalists are considered “protected persons” under international law and are not targeted during conflicts. They are expected to do their work without molestation or hindrance.
But this has not been the case in Gaza for almost two years. Israel has a media shutout policy, citing security reasons, but the world says it is to prevent an independent and accurate coverage of the conflict.
The killing of the journalists exacerbated the Gaza atrocities, casting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a hawk.
Israel and Hamas have a history of mutual animosity. Both want each other wiped off the map, but Hamas drew the first blood in the current conflict. On October 7, 2023, the extremist group unleashed its military operatives on crowds of partying Israeli youths, killing 1,200 and taking 251 as hostages.
The mindless attack rightly drew global outrage and condemnation, with the then British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, calling it “a heinous attack of terrorism” and other world leaders saying Israel had a right to self-defence.
But Israel’s revenge has not been measured. It refused to deploy its famed target precision capabilities to take out just the terrorists. Rather, Israel went all out to flatten the coastal strip of two million people while projecting the narrative that Hamas is embedded in civilian settings.
The relentless bombardments tore residential buildings down to their foundations, levelled schools, hospitals, and destroyed shelters for displaced Gazans. This scorched-earth campaign has reduced Gaza to piles of rubble.
Since the conflict began, at least 62,744 have been reported killed and 158,259 wounded in Gaza as of 25 August, about half of whom are women and children. Some 1.9 million (roughly 90 per cent of the population) are displaced, making the 22-month war one of the bloodiest and most destructive in modern times.
Aid workers and medical personnel have been killed. Reporters Without Borders says over 200 journalists have been targeted and killed since October 2023.
Israel should stop attacking journalists and those rendering humanitarian service.
In March, Israel intensified the enclave’s blockade, halting aid, depleting food, fuel, and medical supplies. Less than 30 trucks are reportedly allowed in daily, a far cry from what the population needs.
This has instigated mass starvation, with haunting images of mothers clutching babies whose skeletal frames are barely covered by thin films of flesh. About 875 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food at food distribution sites.
With 94 per cent of Gaza’s hospitals damaged or destroyed, and food and medical supplies prevented from getting in, the “unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” as Doctors Without Borders described the situation, was inevitable.
The UNHR office said: “Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,” calling for “immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists.” Some Western nations have backed this call.
The world must speak up and restrain Israel. Sadly, global leaders with the loudest voices, particularly the United States, particularly, see this from a different perspective. Iran backs Hamas and will not persuade it to renounce its belligerence. This is wrong. A two-state solution remains the best bet for both Israel and Palestine.
Punch Editorial Board
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