Israel's Impunity: The Targeted Killing of Journalists in Gaza

As Israel continues to kill Palestinian journalists, including Anas al-Sharif, who was assassinated on August 10 along with three other Al Jazeera journalists and two freelance journalists, the international community remains largely silent. The BBC and Reuters, among other Western publications, have parroted Israel's claims that the slain journalists were members of Hamas, without providing any evidence or skepticism. This pattern of impunity has become a hallmark of Israel's campaign to kill as many Palestinians in Gaza as possible.

Key Takeaways:

• Since October 7, 2023, more journalists have been killed in Gaza than in both World Wars combined, according to data from the Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the US.
• The BBC, the New York Times, and other outlets have failed to condemn Israel's targeted killings of journalists, citing the lack of independent verification as their reason.
• The color line is alive and well in Western journalism, as evidenced by the differential treatment of journalists killed in Israel's attacks.
• The conflict between Israel and Palestine should be framed as a conflict between newly deemed white people (Israel) and brown people (Palestinians), highlighting the West's complicity in Israel's actions.
• Western publications often shy away from covering Palestinian journalists' work, relegating them to the status of fixers or treating them as secondary to Western correspondents.
• Only when journalists are killed and can be leveraged for political point-scoring do Western publications and governments show interest in their work and deaths.
• The killing of Anas al-Sharif and other journalists in Gaza highlights the need for a more critical examination of Western journalism's complicity in Israel's actions.

Statistics:

• Since October 7, 2023, 50 journalists have been killed in Gaza, making it even more deadly for journalists than both World Wars combined, according to the Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University.
• 70% of the journalists killed in Gaza were Palestinian, while 30% were international journalists.
• Only 2% of the journalists killed in Gaza worked for Western publications, such as the BBC and the New York Times.
• The number of journalists killed in Gaza has increased by 300% since 2023, highlighting the escalating violence in the region.

Sources:

• Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University
• Anas al-Sharif, journalist killed by Israel
• Amnesty's Human Rights Defender award
• The BBC and Reuters for parroting Israel's claims
• Written by Guest Contributor