‘Do more to protect press freedom’: 6 rights groups write to Biden on journalists killings in Gaza

Days after two journalists were killed in a targeted airstrike in Gaza, prominent rights groups have urged US President Joe Biden to “ensure that all parties to the conflict abide by international law” and to “do more to protect press freedom,” The Guardian reported.

The letter written on Wednesday was signed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, the Freedom of Press Foundation, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, and Reporters Without Borders. 

So far, at least 79 journalists have been killed in the war between Hamas and Israel that began on October 7 last year.  Of these, 72 are Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza. 

The letter said: “The US state department spokesperson recently said that the United States has not seen any evidence that Israel is intentionally targeting journalists.” 

“As such, the United States will be judged on how it has used that influence to ensure that all parties to the conflict abide by international law. Integral to this is the protection of journalists, not only because journalists are civilians, but also because they play an indispensable role in documenting and reporting on war crimes and other human rights violations.” 

It also noted that “credible reports” by human rights and media organisations have stated that the Israeli military was responsible for the deaths of several journalists, including “deliberately targeting a car in which journalists were traveling on January 7, killing two journalists and seriously injuring a third”.

Hamza Dahdouh, who was a journalist in his 20s, was killed in the western part of Khan Younis along with journalist Mustafa Thuraya when the vehicle they were travelling in near al-Mawasi, a supposedly safe area towards the southwest, was reportedly struck by a missile. Days after their killing, Israel claimed that they were accompanied by a “terrorist”.  

On the targeted attacks on journalists, US National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said earlier that the Biden government had seen no evidence of Israel targeting journalists. 

Following the death of Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abu Daqqa in one such attack Kirby said that “journalists need to be able to have the freedom to cover conflicts around the world.” But he dodged the question on Daqqa, saying he did not know the details of the matter. 

“I don’t know all the details about his tragic killing, so I’m not in a position to say that the operation which killed him was of a certain flavor or not,” said Kirby. 

A total of more than 23,000 people have been killed in the war between Palestinian militants Hamas and Israeli forces since October 7 – with more than 22,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank, and over 1,200 deaths in Israel.

Newslaundry had earlier reported that many journalists killed in the conflict were at work, trying to make audiences across the world aware of the horrors of war despite obstacles to their work. From a mother of three to a reporter known for their “empathy”, these journalists also lived a life off the camera. Read all about it here.