The Government Media Office in Gaza announced on Tuesday that the number of Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli occupation since the start of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip has risen to 257, following the killing of photojournalist Mahmoud Wadi, who worked with various local and international media organizations.

The office condemned, in the strongest terms, the policy of targeted killings and systematic assassinations carried out by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian journalists. It called on the International Federation of Journalists, the Federation of Arab Journalists, and all press bodies worldwide to denounce these ongoing crimes against media workers in the besieged Strip.

The statement held the Israeli occupation, the United States administration, and other states involved in the genocide, particularly the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, fully responsible for what it described as “heinous and barbaric crimes” committed against journalists and civilians in Gaza.

The media office urged the international community and relevant global organizations to take immediate action to condemn these violations, pursue accountability at international courts, and pressure for an urgent halt to the genocidal war on Gaza. It reiterated the urgent need to protect journalists and end the continuous targeting and killing of media workers in the Strip.

44 out of 270 journalists killed

44 Palestinian journalists were killed inside displacement tents in the Gaza Strip, out of more than 270 media workers slain by Israeli occupation forces since October 2023, a November report revealed.

According to a new report by the Freedoms Committee of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, many of the journalists were sheltering near hospitals and United Nations-run facilities when occupation forces launched airstrikes or opened sniper fire directly at displacement tents.

The report pointed to the systematic campaign targeting Gaza’s media infrastructure, citing the destruction of news offices and the deliberate killing of journalists in their homes, workplaces, and temporary shelters.

Deliberate targeting and legal violations

The Syndicate stressed that targeting journalists constitutes a war crime under Article 79 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, which guarantees civilian protection to media workers. It further noted that attacks on displacement tents near hospitals and schools represent a serious breach of the protections granted to humanitarian zones.

Investigators confirmed that no military activity was detected in or around the targeted tents, refuting Israeli claims of accidental strikes. The group argued that the use of precision weaponry in densely populated civilian zones “reflects a calculated intent not only to cause death, but to silence witnesses and obstruct documentation of events.”

Call for international accountability

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate urged the formation of an independent international commission to investigate the targeting of journalists and called for the activation of International Criminal Court mechanisms to pursue accountability for war crimes.

It also appealed for cooperation with UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists to establish safe corridors and protected zones for displaced media workers, while maintaining a comprehensive legal archive to support future judicial proceedings.