By The Editorial Board
For The Merit Newspaper (Online)
The Merit Newspaper condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the persistent and deadly targeting of journalists during Israeli military operations. The deliberate or reckless killing of those who bear witness to war is not merely a tragedy — it is an attack on truth itself, and it cannot be tolerated by any society that claims to uphold human rights and democratic values.
On August 10, 2025, the world watched in shock as five Al Jazeera journalists — Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa — were killed in an Israeli airstrike near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Israel claims that al-Sharif was a Hamas commander, yet to this day it has failed to produce independently verifiable evidence. The other journalists, whose only weapon was their camera, died in the same strike.
This is not an isolated incident. On July 31, 2024, correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in a marked press vehicle in Gaza’s Al-Shati refugee camp. On May 11, 2022, the world lost Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian-American journalist, gunned down during an Israeli raid in Jenin while wearing a clearly marked PRESS vest and helmet. Israel eventually admitted a “high probability” that she was killed by its soldiers — yet called it “accidental” and closed the case without accountability.
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Other journalists — including Samer Abu Daqqa in December 2023 and Hossam Shabat in March 2025 — met the same fate. In none of these cases has a single prosecution been brought. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls it “a deeply concerning pattern.” We call it what it is: a systematic dismantling of press freedom under the shadow of war.
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International humanitarian law is unambiguous — journalists in conflict zones are civilians, and targeting them is a war crime if done deliberately or with reckless disregard for their safety. The killings we have seen over the past three years fit this pattern all too clearly.
The world must not look away. We join CPJ in urging the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to launch independent, transparent, and urgent investigations. Without justice, the killings will continue, and the truth will continue to die with those who risk everything to tell it.
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At The Merit Newspaper, we stand with every journalist in harm’s way, and we stand for the principle that truth cannot be silenced by bombs, bullets, or lies. The global community must not only condemn these crimes — it must act decisively to end them.
