20 French journalists' associations urge swift evacuation of Gaza reporters
Nearly 20 journalists’ associations in France, including those affiliated with state-owned France 24 international news television network, daily newspaper Le Monde, and state-owned Radio France Internationale, have called for the evacuation of French journalists and media workers from Gaza amid the Israeli genocidal campaign.
“We call on the French authorities to do everything possible to enable the evacuation of Gazan journalists, fixers, and drivers working for French media outlets and their families,” the associations wrote in a letter on Saturday.
The letter, which was posted on social media and the France 24 website, was signed by several associations affiliated with French media outlets, including BFM TV news television network, Le Figaro and Libération daily newspapers, as well as Mediapart investigative online newspaper.
“Our colleagues and their families are in danger of death today after Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration announced its intention to take full control of the Gaza Strip,” the letter read.
The letter highlighted that since the outbreak of the Israeli war on October 7, 2023, “more than 200 of our colleagues in Gaza have been killed, according to figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
In one of the deadliest nights for the press since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, five Palestinian journalists — including two women — were killed in a series of airstrikes that ripped through civilian neighborhoods in the southern and central parts of the besieged territory on May 18.
The journalists were killed alongside members of their families in strikes that targeted displacement tents and homes in Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS).
The syndicate said in a press statement that the total number of media workers killed since early October 2023 now exceeds 220; an unprecedented toll that Palestinian officials say reflects a “systematic targeting of Palestinian journalism.”
At least 53,901 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 122,593 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the besieged coastal territory.
