Dead Journalists: Beyond Statistics

With the recent targeted killing of five Al-Jazeera journalists, Anas Al-Sharif, Ibrahim Zaher, Muhammad Nofal Moamen and Mohammed Quraiqa, by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza, Reporters Without Borders, a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) claims that 200 journalists have so far been killed in that war.

The United Nations, on its part, said its record shows that at least 242 journalists have been killed in the war. The secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, called for an independent and impartial investigation into these latest killings and added “Journalists and media workers must be respected, they must be protected and they must be allowed to carry out their work freely, free from fear and free from harassment.”

Israel, in a statement, insisted that Al-Sharif was heading a Hamas cell and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against that Jewish nation.

So far, they have not provided incontrovertible evidence to prove that, indeed, the deceased were not just journalists, even as Israel insisted that one of the five, Al Sharif, was enlisted with Hamas in 2013. They also released what they say was an injury report from 2017, the name of his military unit, and his rank.

Local media reports in Gaza indicate that Sharif might have had some link with Hamas. He was said to have worked in their communication office in his early career years, where he publicised the group’s events.

The international outrage against the killings has put Israel on the spot, with many countries and the United Nations demanding an independent investigation.

Germany, a key arms supplier to Israel, has called on that country to provide a clear and transparent explanation on the matter.

According to the Germans, the killing of media personnel is inadmissible under international law, and have threatened to stop arms supply to Israel.

A Media advocacy group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in its reaction to the killing, said that what Israel did was nothing less than a war crime and added that journalists ought not to be targets in a war situation.

Expectedly, the United States of America has been reticent about this matter, which is generating a backlash against its only ally in the Middle East.

Speaking tongue in cheek, a State Department spokesperson said, ” While the US has concern about the loss of any innocent life, many of you know of someone who’s been killed, who you’ve worked with because of a war situation”.

However, the spokesperson added, “I will remind you again that we’re dealing with a complicated, horrible situation. Israel has released evidence al-Sharif was part of Hamas and was supportive of the Hamas attack on October 7. They’re the ones who have the evidence”.

In our opinion, Israel’s reason for killing journalists cannot suffice in the circumstances, given the atrocities playing out in the war in Gaza, most of which are inexplicable and impossible to justify. As is being demanded by the international community, an independent investigation is needed to unravel the validity or otherwise of Israel’s claim.

It is not unlikely that journalists could develop ties with parties in the conflict at some point in their duties in a crisis like Gaza. They do not deserve to be killed for what is usually described as going beyond the call of duty. There are ways to address such perceived professional misconduct, where the journalists concerned would be required to defend themselves. With their death, their complicity or otherwise has become academic.

The death of these journalists has escalated the emerging alienation of Israel by its allies, leading to the demand for the creation of a Palestinian state as part of the envisaged two-state solution to the Middle East crisis.

Indeed, many of those countries, such as France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, have given a September deadline for the recognition of the State of Palestine, an indication that the ruthless execution of the war in Gaza by Israel and the humanitarian catastrophe so grotesquely apparent are attracting a considerable backlash.

We appeal to the United States to, for once, be humane in its assessment of the activities of Israel in the war in Gaza. It is time for that superpower to rein in Benjamin Netanyahu for the sake of humanity and good conscience.

Furthermore, we dare to say that journalists do not make news except in situations where they have been killed in the line of duty. Even then, occupational hazard has its limit. Journalists, by the nature of the profession, report news. The onus, therefore, is on Israel to convince the world otherwise, especially in the present scenario.

It is also important to point out that the dead are not mere statistics but human beings—sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers from families who had to make the supreme sacrifice all in a day’s work.