'Israel' arrested 80 Palestinian journalists from WB, Gaza since Oct 7
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Since "Israel's" genocidal war on Gaza was launched, 80 journalists have been arrested from Gaza and the West Bank, while over 170 others were killed.
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Palestinian journalists carry mock coffins of Palestinian journalists who were killed during the current war in Gaza during a symbolic funeral toward a United Nations office, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 (AP)
The Palestinian Prisoner Society revealed on Sunday that 80 Palestinian journalists have been arrested by the Israeli occupation since October 7, 68 of whom were located in the West Bank, while the rest were arrested in Gaza.
Palestinian journalists have been consistently targeted, alongside their families, by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza since the genocide was launched in October. The latest death toll shows that the IOF killed 147 journalists in eight months.
In addition, hundreds more were injured, their families were targeted, and their homes, offices, and media headquarters were destroyed.
The Gaza Government Media Office accused the Israeli occupation of deliberately targeting journalists to obscure the Palestinian narrative, distorting facts, and preventing journalists from documenting the crimes of the Israeli occupation forces to the public.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza, calling for the necessity of protecting them from the violence of the Israeli occupation forces and enabling them to perform their work.
Read more: IOF inciting against journalists to assassinate them: Gaza Media
UNESCO awards World Press Freedom prize to Palestinian journalists
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) rewarded on May 3 the 2024 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to the Palestinian journalists covering the Israeli occupation's atrocities in Gaza.
"In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances," said Mauricio Weibel, chairman of the International Jury of Media Professionals.
"As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression," he added.
The reward serves to highlight the struggle of journalists covering perilous situations and pay tribute to their courage in light of the danger they face for the sake of fulfilling their duty.
"Each year, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize pays tribute to the courage of journalists facing difficult and dangerous circumstances," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said.
"Once again this year, the Prize reminds us of the importance of collective action to ensure that journalists around the world can continue to carry out their essential work to inform and investigate," she underlined.
