As journalists and a media organisation we have watched with increasing dismay and anger as journalists have been targeted and killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

We join the Committee to Protect Journalists in condemning the most recent attacks that killed five journalists at the Nasser Hospital and calling for those responsible to be held accountable.

As the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented, at least 197 journalists and media workers have been killed in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Lebanon between 2023 and 2025.

The Geneva Conventions – the international humanitarian law governing the laws of war – confers special protection on journalists and international human rights law categorises the killing of journalists as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

International law also places obligations on other states to hold those committing war crimes accountable.

In addition to condemning the action of Israel, we decry the lack of action taken by the international community to hold the Israeli officials responsible for these killings to account.

Journalists play a vital role in society to document abuses and to hold those in power to account. As Israel continues to deny international journalists access to Gaza, the killing of Palestinian journalists serves to silence reporting on Israel’s genocidal conduct in the war and creation of a deliberate famine. Without an independent media able to report freely and safely, the documentation of wartime atrocities and starvation is sabotaged.

We mourn our colleagues killed by Israeli strikes and offer our condolences to their family, friends and community. We also grieve for the impact these deaths and lack of accountability have on media freedom in the world.