LONDON: The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate has denounced the killing of two journalists and the detention or obstruction of 12 others by Israeli forces in March, documenting 53 offences against media workers.
The syndicate described the violations as part of a systematic escalation targeting press freedom, accusing Israeli authorities of pursuing an organised policy to silence Palestinian voices.
The syndicate’s Freedom Committee monthly report recorded eight incidents of direct targeting with tear gas and stun grenades, eight cases of physical assault, seven cases of confiscation or destruction of equipment, six arrests, four raids on journalists’ homes, two instances of verbal threats and two cases of interrogation.
The two journalists killed were Amal Al-Shamali, a correspondent for Qatar Radio in Gaza, who died in a strike on her tent, and Marwan Harzallah, a media worker at the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation who died in Israeli custody as a result of torture and medical neglect — which the syndicate described as a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
The committee called on the United Nations, the International Federation of Journalists and human rights organisations to take “immediate and practical steps” to protect Palestinian journalists, open independent international investigations, and hold those responsible accountable, urging an end to what it described as a policy of impunity.
Since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023, 260 journalists have been killed and 550 others injured, according to data published on the syndicate’s website.
A further 39 journalists are still in detention and 150 media institutions have been destroyed.
