The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip announced today, Tuesday, that the number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli occupation forces since 7 October 2023 has risen to 215. This follows the assassination of journalist Hassan Asliah, Director of the “Elm 24” News Agency, while he was receiving medical treatment inside the Nasser Medical Complex in the south of the Strip.
According to the statement issued by the office, Asliah had previously been injured in an assassination attempt on 7 April, when Israeli warplanes bombed his tent outside the Nasser complex, resulting in the deaths of two other journalists who were inside the tent at the time.
However, the occupation forces targeted him again with a direct strike inside the same hospital, in a blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions, which oblige warring parties to respect and protect the wounded, medical personnel, and medical facilities, shielding them from attack.
The assassination of Hassan Asliah forms part of a systematic campaign of killings and deliberate targeting of journalists and media workers in Gaza while they perform their duties, without regard for the principle of distinction or proportionality, which are cornerstones of international humanitarian law.
Under the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (1977), journalists engaged in professional missions in areas of armed conflict are considered civilians and must be protected as long as they do not take part in hostilities. The intentional targeting of journalists is classified as a war crime that can be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court.
Despite the International Court of Justice issuing orders for the occupation to halt its military operations that may amount to acts of genocide, those orders continue to be disregarded, amid ongoing international support for the military operations on the ground.
The assassination of journalist Hassan Asliah while wounded and inside a hospital is a stark embodiment of a policy of extermination that spares no one, not civilians, not medical teams, and not even those who strive to convey the truth to the world, all in the face of international silence.
