Media group calls for investigation into deaths of 34 journalists in Israel-Hamas war

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for an investigation into the deaths of 34 journalists in the Israel-Hamas war. 

According to the RSF tally, 34 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war, which the media freedom group says marks the deadliest start to a war since the beginning of this century.

The call to investigate comes in an official complaint RSF filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday alleging “war crimes” against journalists “killed in the course of their work.”

The complaint details the alleged war crimes against eight Palestinian journalists in Gaza and one Israeli journalist who were “killed in the course of their work.” The complaint includes the cases of two additional journalists who were wounded. 

“Even if these journalists were the victims of attacks aimed at legitimate military targets, as the Israeli authorities claim, the attacks nevertheless caused manifestly excessive and disproportionate harm to civilians, and still amount to a war crime under this article,” the press release stated, referring to the deaths of Palestinian journalists in Gaza and citing Article 8.2.b of the ICC’s Rome Statute.

The press release also said, “The Israeli journalist’s death constituted the wilful killing of a person protected by the Geneva Conventions, which is a war crime under article 8.2.a. of the ICC’s Rome Statute.”

The Rome Statute is the foundational treaty of the ICC. Article 8 defines acts considered war crimes under the statute, which the ICC claims jurisdiction over.

Christophe Deloire, secretary general of RSF, underscored the serious and unprecedented nature of the attacks on journalists in a statement.

“The scale, seriousness and recurring nature of international crimes targeting journalists, particularly in Gaza, calls for a priority investigation by the ICC prosecutor. We have been calling for this since 2018. The current tragic events demonstrate the extreme urgency of the need for ICC action,” Deloire said.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as “human shields” to make it difficult for Israel to target high-ranking officials in the militant group, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization, without injuring civilians. The U.S., among others, has emphasized that this does not excuse Israel from its responsibility to protect civilians. 

Israel also claims that it gives warnings to civilians in Arabic to evacuate the area ahead of time, warning of an imminent attack. Many critics, however, have called evacuation warnings insufficient, arguing residents of Gaza have nowhere else to go.

The complaint also includes allegations citing “the deliberate, total or partial, destruction of the premises of more than 50 media outlets in Gaza” since Israel declared war on Hamas following the militant group’s deadly attacks on the country on Oct. 7.

This is the third complaint RSF has filed alleging war crimes against Palestinian journalists in Gaza since 2018, according to The Associated Press.