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Paris:

Some 60 media and rights organisations on Monday urged the European Union to suspend a cooperation accord with Israel and impose sanctions, accusing it of “massacring journalists” in Gaza.

“In response to the unprecedented number of journalists killed and other repeated press freedom violations by the Israeli authorities since the start of the war with Hamas, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and 59 other organisations are calling on the European Union to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel and to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible”, the groups said in a joint statement.

The call came ahead of a meeting by EU foreign ministers in Brussels on August 29.

The period following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s devastating retaliatory assault on the Gaza Strip “has been the deadliest for journalists in decades”, the letter said.

“More than 130 Palestinian journalists and media professionals have been killed by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza since 7 October. At least 30 of them were killed in the course of their work, three Lebanese journalists and an Israeli journalist have also been (killed) during the same period”, it says.

“The targeted or indiscriminate killing of journalists, whether committed deliberately or recklessly, is a war crime”, it said.

EU’s association agreements with non-member countries are treaties that govern bilateral relations, including trade.

The agreement’s Article 2 stipulates “respect for human rights and democratic principles”, said Julie Majerczak, the head of RSF’s Brussels office.

“The Israeli government is clearly trampling on this article. The EU, which is Israel’s leading trade partner, must draw the necessary conclusions from this and must do everything to ensure that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government stops massacring journalists and respects the right to information and press freedom by opening media access to Gaza,” she said.

Among the signatories were the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Human Rights Watch (HRW).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jerusalem:

 Israel’s military has told international news organisations Reuters and Agence France Presse that it cannot guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, under Israeli bombardment and siege for almost three weeks.

Gaza, a Palestinian enclave run by the militant group Hamas, has been under bombardment since Oct. 7 when Hamas gunmen burst through the Gaza border into Israel and killed some 1,400 people. Gaza’s health ministry says around 7,000 people have been killed by Israeli strikes.

The Israel Defense Forces wrote to Reuters and AFP this week after they had sought assurances that their journalists in Gaza would not be targeted by Israeli strikes.

“The IDF is targeting all Hamas military activity throughout Gaza,” the IDF letter said, adding that Hamas deliberately put military operations “in the vicinity of journalists and civilians”.

The IDF also noted that its high-intensity strikes on Hamas targets could cause damage to surrounding buildings and that Hamas rockets could also misfire and kill people inside Gaza.

“Under these circumstances, we cannot guarantee your employees’ safety, and strongly urge you to take all necessary measures for their safety,” the IDF letter concluded.

Hamas did not immediately comment when asked about the IDF’s allegation that it put military operations near where journalists in Gaza are known to be based.

Reuters could not verify how many other news organizations operating in Gaza had received the same letter from the IDF.

The IDF did not have any immediate comment.

Reuters and AFP said they were very concerned about the safety of journalists in Gaza.

“The situation on the ground is dire, and the IDF’s unwillingness to give assurances about the safety of our staff threatens their ability to deliver the news about this conflict without fear of being injured or killed,” Reuters said in a statement in response to receiving the Israel military letter.  

AFP Global News Director Phil Chetwynd said his news organisation had received the same letter.

“We are in an incredibly precarious position and it’s important that the world understands that there is a large team of journalists working in extremely dangerous conditions,” Chetwynd said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 27 journalists have been killed since the war began, mostly in Gaza but also in Israel and southern Lebanon. As of October 27, according to CPJ’s latest update, 22 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese have been killed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)