Gaza Media Office mourns photographer Bilal Rajab as toll rises to 183

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
1 Nov 2024 23:18

The Media Office strongly condemned the occupation's targeting of Palestinian journalists, holding it fully responsible for this heinous crime.

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Martyr Bilal Muhammad Rajab was a photographer for the Al-Quds Today satellite channel killed by 'Israel' in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, on November 1, 2024. (Al-Quds Today)

The government media office in the Gaza Strip announced the martyrdom of Bilal Muhammad Rajab, a photographer for the Al-Quds Today satellite channel, due to an Israeli airstrike.

The office strongly condemned the occupation's targeting of Palestinian journalists, holding it fully responsible for this heinous crime.

The Media Office urged the international community and relevant organizations to "deter the occupation and prosecute it in international courts for its ongoing crimes," as well as to pressure it to stop the genocide and the killing and assassination of Palestinian journalists.

The number of journalists killed by the Israeli occupation, in the Gaza Strip, has now risen to 183 since the beginning of the genocide war.

'Israel’s' assault on press freedom unprecedented, Chris Hedges writes

The Scheerpost, on Saturday, published an analysis by renowned American journalist and writer Chris Hedges, offering a stark examination of the perilous climate for journalists covering the war on Gaza.

Hedges delves into the contrasting realities faced by foreign reporters in "Israel," who he argues are often steered by military-guided narratives, and Palestinian journalists in Gaza, who sacrifice their lives to tell the unfiltered truth.

The article presents a powerful critique of how foreign media correspondents, largely confined to Israeli-controlled narratives, cover the war from luxury hotels and under strict Israeli military oversight.

Meanwhile, Palestinian journalists face daily, life-threatening conditions to fill the gaps left by the international media's absence in Gaza, Hedges points out.

According to Hedges, "Israel's" restriction on foreign journalists entering Gaza and its pattern of targeting local Palestinian reporters reflect a broader assault on press freedom.

He cites alarming statistics from the Committee to Protect Journalists, noting that at least 128 journalists and media workers across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon have been killed and 69 detained, marking the deadliest period for journalists since the organization began collecting data in 1992.

Hedges juxtaposes this grim reality with foreign correspondents' tightly-controlled access, including guided visits to alleged Hamas sites and daily Israeli press conferences that are often riddled with misinformation.

These "hotel room warriors," as Hedges calls them, relay the Israeli narratives without truly witnessing the realities on the ground.

He calls out this domesticated media as serving the interests of military powers, suggesting they become "spokesmen of the spokesmen."