‘We fear we are next’: Palestinian journalists in Gaza targeted by Israeli smear campaigns
Israel accused of targeting journalists in Gaza ‘to suppress the truth’
- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has warned that Palestinian journalists in Gaza are in immediate danger, describing Israel's targeted killings of reporters as a war crime aimed at suppressing the truth.
- The CPJ highlighted the assassination of Pulitzer Prize-winning Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif in an airstrike, noting Israel's unsubstantiated claims that he was a Hamas operative were part of a smear campaign to justify his killing.
- Amnesty International reports that over 240 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, marking the highest number in any modern conflict, with family members of reporters also being targeted.
- Al Jazeera and CPJ express deep concern for other Palestinian journalists facing similar unfounded accusations and imminent risk, with some having received direct threats from the Israeli military.
- Reports from Israeli media indicate the existence of a military 'Legitimisation Cell' tasked with portraying Gaza-based journalists as Hamas operatives to counter international criticism, a tactic journalists describe as an attempt to silence the only voices left in Gaza.