Reporters without Borders condemns latest killing of journalists in Gaza

International press freedom organisation, Reporters without Borders (RSF), has strongly condemned Israel’s latest killing of journalists in Gaza.

There has been global outrage at the attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday during which the five Palestinian media workers died.

In total 20 people were killed in the double-tap strike which is fatal for journalists who rush to the scene of the first one, only to be killed by the second.

Israel has barred international media from covering the war. To show the world what is happening there, news organisations have to rely largely on local journalists in Gaza, as well as residents.

RSF says the Palestinian press members were deliberately targeted.

"We need to enable the opening of the Gaza Strip to the international press … we need to end the impunity cycle of crimes committed against Palestinian journalists,” said Thibault Bruttin, director of Reporters Without Borders.

The protection of journalists is guaranteed by international law, including during a time of war, but more than 200 have been killed since the beginning of the conflict 22 months ago.

“About 40 of them have been targeted according to the information collected by RSF. Where is it going to end,” says Bruttin.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says comparatively, 18 journalists have been killed so far in the over three years of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Why is the movement of support toward Palestinian journalists still burgeoning within the media community? I think we need to hear stronger voices to hold Israel accountable,” he says.

RSF has called for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting to halt the killings.

The journalists who died on Monday worked for several news media, including Reuters, Associated Press, and Al Jazeera.

Israel says it deeply regrets what it described as a “tragic mishap” and that military authorities are conducting a "thorough investigation”.

Several other international media organisations have expressed outrage at the latest killing of journalists in Gaza, including the Foreign Press Association and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Numerous countries have also condemned the killings, including France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for a prompt, impartial investigation of the incident.

Journalists should be able to work "without interference, intimidation, or harm, in full accordance with international humanitarian law", he said.