AhlulBayt News Agency: Reporters Without Borders, in partnership with the Avaaz platform, is set to launch a global media campaign on September 1 to protest Israel’s targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
The campaign, supported by The New Arab and other outlets, urges media organizations worldwide to blackout their front pages, websites, and broadcasts to deliver a unified message demanding an end to attacks on journalists and unrestricted access for international press in Gaza.
Reporters Without Borders confirmed that approximately 150 media outlets have joined the initiative, including Al Jazeera, The Independent, +972, Local Call, The Intercept, Mediapart, L’Humanité, Forbidden Stories, il Fatto Quotidiano, El País, RTVE, Daraj, Mada Masr, Le Desk, and L’Orient-Le Jour, along with many others across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, 246 journalists and media workers have been killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of the genocide.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has described this period as the deadliest for journalists in decades, reporting 480 injuries and 49 detentions.
Investigations by +972 and Local Call revealed that a special Israeli army unit has been tasked with identifying journalists to falsely label them as combatants, aiming to justify their targeting and reduce global backlash.
Reports indicate that this “legitimization cell” was formed after the Al-Aqsa Flood in October 2023 to gather intelligence that would improve Israel’s image and secure diplomatic and military support from allies. In one documented case, a journalist was deliberately misrepresented as a combatant, effectively marking them for death.
Israeli forces have also targeted Gaza’s media infrastructure, bombing 12 print outlets, 23 digital organizations, 11 radio stations, 16 satellite channels (including four local and 12 international), five major printing presses, 22 smaller facilities, and five unions and press freedom institutions. Additionally, 32 journalists’ homes were destroyed in airstrikes.
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