The Board of Directors of the BH Journalists Association and the Journalists' Helpline (FMHL) call on Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, to urgently get involved in the protection of journalists and media crews in the war zone of the Gaza Strip, who are exposed to murder, injury and other security risks while performing professional journalistic tasks.

“The urgent protection of all journalists in Gaza is part of humanitarian law and international obligations of the United Nations and all other international organizations and governments, and should not be subordinated to any other interests, especially not military or political,” said these organizations.

The Board of Directors of BH Journalists emphasizes that “the support and protection of all reporters from the Gaza Strip must be fast, comprehensive and effective, since male and female journalists are dying in that area – civilians on duty, without whose work it would not be possible to find out what is happening, nor would the world be aware of the mass killings of civilians in the Gaza Strip, above all Palestinians, mostly women and children”.

The Management Board of BH Journalists points out that the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organization reported the murder of 34 journalists and the destruction of 50 media offices in Gaza. This organization invited the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to investigate these cases. RSF has also filed a complaint with the ICC for eight Palestinian journalists, who they say were killed in Israeli bombing of civilian areas in Gaza, and one Israeli journalist, killed during a Hamas attack in southern Israel. At the same time, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CJP) reports the murder of 31 journalists until the beginning of November this year, among them 26 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese.

“The Management Board of BH Journalists reminds that three days ago (November 2), numerous international organizations, committees, governments, media and journalist associations were united in their thunderous condemnation of the impunity of crimes against journalists around the world. We need an equally loud condemnation of the crimes against journalists in the Gaza Strip today from organizations and international bodies, with a clear position that the lives of journalists are equally valuable in Gaza and anywhere in the rest of the world, as well as that journalistic teams must be under international protection in the performance of their journalistic duties and tasks regardless of political preferences and attitude towards foreigners on the battlefield in the Gaza Strip. The Management Board of BH Journalists and the FMHL once again express their deep solidarity with the families of the murdered journalists and inform the public that they will file a complaint with the UN Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Opinion in connection with the murders of media professionals in the Gaza Strip and demand more effective protection of journalists who are still reporting from this area”, state the Association of BH Journalists and the Helpline for Journalists.