By Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Prominent Indian journalists’ bodies, Press Club of India Indian Women’s Press Corps and Press Association on Sunday strongly condemn bombing of the media houses by Israel in Gaza strip. Foreign journalists association, Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia also condemned the Israeli action saying the building bombed was also used for residential purposes by the journalists and their families.
They said in joint statement that “There can be no justification for bombing media houses and targeting their personnel and resources. It appears as a clear attempt to prevent media houses from reporting excesses that have become a routine affair in Gaza and the occupied parts of Palestine. We condemn such attacks. We demand that targeting of media persons, who are working in violence-hit conflict zones, be completely stopped immediately.”
Meanwhile, foreign journalists based in Delhi also condemned the Israeli attack on media houses in Gaza. The Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia issued a statement condemning Israel.
“The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC South Asia) condemns in the strongest possible terms Israel’s bombing on 15th May 2021 of the Al Jalaa tower in Gaza, which housed the offices of international news agencies including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, and many Palestinian families. Bombing news organisations and civilian buildings is a war crime under international law. A one-hour warning of the strike resulted in the building being evacuated before it was destroyed, but the attack severely limits journalists’ ability to do their jobs and inform the world of the events unfolding in Gaza. We join the Committee to Protect Journalists, other Indian and global press organisations in demanding that the Israeli government provide a detailed and documented justification for this military attack on a civilian facility. Their allegations that the building contained Hamas military intelligence assets has not been supported by evidence, and denied by both the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Al Jalaa tower was the third building housing media offices which was destroyed in Israeli air strikes in five days. An attack on journalists anywhere is an attack on press freedom everywhere. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in Gaza, and ask that Israel be held to account for its actions and stop such attacks.”