Israeli forces killing clearly marked journalists is nothing new. In 2018, following a series of protests that came to be known as The Great March of Return, a UN commission “found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities, knowing they were clearly recognizable as such."
And as seen in the case of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American and 25-year reporter for Al Jazeera Media Network who was shot to death in 2022 by Israeli forces while "clearly identifiable" as a journalist, those deaths, even when investigated by international bodies, are often met with impunity and inaction.
As this article will show, this pattern has continued throughout the current conflict, in which, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “More journalists have reportedly been killed over a four-week period than in any conflict in at least three decades.” The impunity with which these killings are carried out is another constant.
* * *
On October 13, 2023, a group of journalists from Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and Al Jazeera was operating in southern Lebanon, roughly one kilometer away from the Israeli border. Among them was Issam Abdallah, a journalist who had been working with Reuters since 2007.
Setting up “near a farmhouse,” the Reuters team gathered about 45 minutes of footage before turning its camera onto an Israeli outpost, from which a tank was firing into Lebanon. Reuters reports the journalists from Reuters, AFP, and Al Jazeera wore "blue flak jackets and helmets, most with 'PRESS' written on them in white letters." These can be seen in smartphone footage captured by Abdallah shortly before the attack.
“Less than 90 seconds later,” a tank round hit the team. A second tank round hit 37 seconds later, setting the Al Jazeera vehicle ablaze. The first explosion killed Abdallah. Six other journalists sustained injuries, including Agence France-Presse photographer Christina Assi, who was "severely wounded."
A live video feed was removed from Reuters' Twitter account on Oct. 13, 2023, at 6:33 p.m. Eastern European Time, "due to graphic content." At the request of Reuters, the TNO analyzed evidence gathered from the site, concluding that "a large metal piece recovered from the scene" bears a close resemblance to a 120 mm Hatzav, a round that "is used by the Israeli armed forces." Presented with the evidence, Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht told Reuters: “We don’t target journalists,” without providing any further comment.
The incident was independently investigated by Reuters, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, with all inquiries concluding the strikes that hit the team were carried out by Israeli forces, and that the team were identifiable as journalists.
According to Human Rights Watch, "Visual evidence suggests that Israeli Forces targeted the journalists, who were filming at a known live position far from military targets. The attacks were likely deliberate and an apparent war crime."
After having "verified over 100 videos and photographs, analyzed weapons fragments from the site, and interviewed nine witnesses," Amnesty International concluded that "the group was visibly identifiable as journalists and that the Israeli military knew or should have known that they were civilians yet attacked them anyway in two separate strikes 37 seconds apart." The organization has also recommended the attack “be investigated as a war crime.”
Tallying Journalist Deaths
No universally agreed-upon figure exists for how many journalists have died since 7 October 2023, with different organizations putting forward their own tallies. What is certain is that journalists are dying at a dramatically higher rate than in any other conflict in recent memory.
Outlets reporting on the conflict have mostly relied on three different organizations to track journalist deaths—the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Each of these relies on different standards for deciding which deaths count as journalist fatalities, accounting for the disparity.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists describes itself as "an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide," focused on defending "the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal."
“What the International Red Cross is to victims of famine and floods, the Committee to Protect Journalists has become to hundreds of reporters and editors operating under siege in the deadliest spots for the media around the globe,” said Sherry Ricchiardi, writing for the American Journalism Review.
The organization documents journalist and media worker deaths during the conflict. The CPJ defines journalists as “people who cover news or comment on public affairs through any medium — including in print, online, via broadcast media, or photographs and video” and also documents the deaths of media support workers, under which they include “translators, drivers, guards, fixers, and administrative workers.”
According to the CPJ, as of February 19, 2024, "88 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 83 Palestinian, 2 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese." A further "16 journalists were reported injured", and four "were reported missing."
The International Federation of Journalists, founded in 1926, describes itself as "the world's largest organization of journalists," and "represents 600,000 media professionals from 187 trade unions and associations in more than 140 countries." It has represented journalists in the United Nations in a professional capacity since 1953.
As of February 13, the IFJ, working alongside the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, reports “at least 102 journalists and media workers have been killed” since the onset of the Gaza conflict, out of which 95 were Palestinian, four Israeli, and three Lebanese.
Reporters Without Borders makes a distinction between journalists killed "in the course of their reporting" and those "killed in circumstances unproven to be related to their duties." RSF reported that as of Jan. 9, "At least 80 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October, including 18 in the course of their work, according to information verified by RSF."
RSF also notes that 2023 was the first time in five years that “the number of journalists killed in war zones was proportionally higher than the number killed in peace zones.”
According to Reporters Without Borders' 2023 Round-Up, 11 journalists were killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a number that the Gaza conflict exceeded in just two months. Palestine was deemed by RSF as the most dangerous country for journalists in 2023.
The particularly deathly nature of this conflict has also been noted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at a press conference on 6 November 2023.
“More journalists have reportedly been killed over a four-week period than in any conflict in at least three decades,” Guterres said. “More United Nations aid workers have been killed than in any comparable period in the history of our organization. I salute all those who continue their life-saving work despite the overwhelming challenges and risks.”
Detention of Journalists, Without Trial
Death is not the only consequence for journalists reporting on the conflict in Gaza. RSF reports that, as of Jan 9th, Israel has arrested 38 Palestinian journalists since the start of the conflict, most of whom have not been charged. The majority of detentions have taken place in the West Bank, not Gaza, with 19 of them carried out through a process known as "administrative detention," according to RSF.
Administrative detentions "are usually secret orders for six months periods of incarceration, and can be renewed indefinitely. In some cases, prisoners have been held without charge or trial for several years."
This mechanism is enabled by "three pieces of legislation, each of which applies in a different area (the West Bank, the territory of Israeli and the Gaza Strip)," though the principle mirrors powers extended to colonial authorities by the British High Commissioner for Palestine in 1945, which established that, "A Military Commander may by order direct that any person shall be detained for any period not exceeding one year in such place of detention as may be specified by the Military Commander in the order." These were adopted by the new state of Israel in 1948 under the Law and Administration Ordinance, which decreed laws prevailing in the territory would remain in force unless they contradicted the Proclamation of the Establishment of the State of Israel or were in conflict with laws enacted by the Knesset.
The use of administrative detentions has increased sharply over the last three years. According to B’Tselem, a donation-funded organization focused on "documenting, researching and publishing statistics, testimonies, video footage, position papers and reports on human rights violations committed by Israel in the Occupied Territories," from 2008 to 2021 the number of Palestinians held under administrative detention by the State of Israel was at its lowest reported number in July and August of 2013. In both months, 134 administrative detainees were reported. In September of 2022, that figure had risen to at least 784, and reached at least 1,310 in September of 2023.
According to HaMoked using data the organization states was obtained from the Israel Prison Service, as of January 2024 there were 3,291 administrative detainees.
Moreover, according to an Oct. 2020 press release by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Israel also regularly incarcerates its Palestinian administrative detainees in Israeli prisons, a violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which says protected people under occupation should be detained in the occupied territory."
As for journalists, RSF reports that while on Oct. 7 two Palestinian journalists were being held by Israeli authorities, 38 have been arrested since the start of the conflict, with 31 in custody as of Jan. 9. CPJ reports 25 journalists arrested by Israeli authorities during the conflict, with 19 of them still being held as of February 29, 2024.
Those released are not always permitted to resume their work or return to normal life. According to RSF, "Some of those who have been released, such as the freelancer Somaya Jawbara, who was granted on [sic] bail on 22 November, 17 days after her arrest, are required to remain at home, are banned from using the Internet or talking to the media, and have been placed under surveillance for an unspecified period."
A History of Impunity
This is not the first time Israel has been accused of targeting journalists during conflicts. A series of 2018 protests in the Gaza Strip, which came to be known as the “Great March of Return”, saw Israeli security forces opening fire on civilians, according to a United Nations inquiry into the events. The UN's Commission investigated "every killing at the designated demonstration sites", and concluded Israeli forces killed 183 protesters, including 35 minors, three "clearly marked paramedics," and two "clearly marked journalists."
“The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities, knowing they were clearly recognizable as such,” a 2019 press release by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights states.
Another instance that saw accusations leveled at Israel for targeting journalists was the 2022 killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. Reporting for Al Jazeera since 1997, Abu Akleh was described by the U.S. Department of State as "a fearless reporter whose journalism and pursuit of truth earned her the respect of audiences around the world." She was an American citizen.
Her death was investigated by an independent UN commission. The report outlines the inquiry’s methodology:
The Commission has collected, analysed and preserved information relevant to the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist for Al Jazeera who was shot and killed on 11 May 2022 in Jenin. The Commission has conducted open-source investigations; collected and preserved videos, photographs, reports and social media posts; and reviewed the investigations conducted by Bellingcat, the Associated Press, CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Forensic Architecture and Al-Haq, Al Jazeera and the Committee to Protect Journalists. In addition, eight individuals testified at the Commission’s public hearings in November 2022 and March 2023. The Commission sent formal requests for information to the Governments of Israel, the State of Palestine and the United States and did not receive responses from the Governments of Israel or the United States.
The Commission concluded that on the morning of 11 May 2022, Abu Akleh and other members of the press gathered in Jenin to cover an operation of Israeli security forces, which had entered the area "to arrest members of the Al-Hosari family." Abu Akleh and the other reporters wore blue protective vests marked “press” as well as protective helmets.
The Commission was informed that “normally, if the Israeli security forces did not want the journalists to approach, soldiers would respond by throwing tear gas or stun grenades or by shooting the ground near the journalists as a warning.” Israeli forces, deployed about 200m away from Abu Akleh and the rest of the team, gave no such warning.
As the group started walking towards the Israeli convoy, six shots were fired, at which point Abu Akleh was heard screaming “Ali’s been hit!” Seven more shots were fired, at which point Abu Akleh fell to the ground, and then three more shots were heard. A local resident “attempted to move Abu Akleh to safety” and was shot at. Abu Akleh was eventually moved into a car and taken to Ibn Sina Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially claimed “Palestinian terrorists, firing indiscriminately, are likely to have hit Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla.” On Dec. 6, 2022, "in response to the publication of Al Jazeera's appeal to the International Criminal Court to investigate the death of journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh," then-Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid stated, "No one will investigate IDF soldiers and no one will preach to us about morals in warfare, certainly not Al-Jazeera."
The UN’s Commission concluded that “there were no visibly armed Palestinians in the area” when Abu Akleh was killed, and that prior to Israeli gunfire no shots had been fired. It also concluded the members of the press "were clearly identifiable as journalists," and that the gunfire from Israeli security forces “targeted the upper bodies of the journalists”. Moreover, it concluded that when a third party tried to help Abu Akleh, he was also fired at. It also concluded that, being “clearly identifiable” as members of the press, the journalists fired at were protected persons under Article 147 of the Geneva Convention, and noted that wilfully killing a protected person during an occupation "is a war crime."
In a Sept. 5, 2022 statement, the Israel Defense Forces released the conclusions to an investigation into the events, stating, "there is a high possibility that Ms. Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire."
Her funeral procession at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in East Jerusalem was met with violence when Israeli Police attacked the pallbearers with batons. Israeli Police also threw stun grenades and “surged” into the hospital, causing injuries to medical staff. According to the International Federation of Journalists, the site of her killing was "bulldozed and her shrine desecrated" on October 27, 2023, with locals claiming this was carried out "by members of the Israeli Defence Forces."
As of the date of this report, no charges have been filed against any of those involved in her death.
* * *
On Jan. 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), issued provisional measures following its review of South Africa’s application against Israel. The ICJ concluded that “at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the [Genocide] Convention.” Noting “there is urgency, in the sense that there is a real and imminent risk”, the ICJ called on Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
South Africa is pursuing further international action, including seeking an investigation by the International Criminal Court, the same body that issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin last year. In a media briefing on January 31, 2024, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said she had asked the ICC Prosecutor "why he was able to issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Putin and is unable to do so for the Prime Minister of Israel" and stated that South Africa would continue to pursue the matter.
Neither Israel nor Russia are signatories to the ICC and neither country recognizes its authority.
And while Israel is a party to the ICJ’s statute, which means the court’s rulings could lead to UN sanctions if ignored, any such sanctions could be vetoed by the United States in its status as a member of the UN Security Council.
“I believe that the rulings of the court have been ignored by Israel,” Pandor said during the briefing. “Hundreds of people have been killed in the last three or four days. And clearly Israel believes it has license to do as it wishes.”