The International Press Institute (IPI) on Thursday, January 25, called for a stop to journalist killings in Gaza, with at least 80 reporters and media workers having died in Israeli airstrikes in the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. 

The IPI said, “Israel must respect the rules of war, credibly investigate any killings of journalists by its forces, and allow international journalists access to Gaza.” 

The undersigned members of the IPI’s Executive Board, which includes Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, described the killings in Gaza and southern Lebanon as “unabated,” involving as well “the apparent targeting in some cases of our colleagues in Gaza and the region.” 

The killings are “unprecedented,” and the at least 80 killed represent “the largest number of journalists killed in such a short span of time in a conflict zone since IPI was founded in 1950.”

The institute said it intends to work with partners to “pursue accountability before a court of law” for those who deliberately target journalists in a conflict zone. 

The IPI also called out Israel’s allies, which includes the US, to “take immediate and concrete action to protect the rights of journalists to cover this war freely and safely,” and put pressure on Israel. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists has an updated list of journalist deaths in Gaza.

“This unprecedented assault on journalists and journalism must end. No further time, and no further lives, can be lost,” the IPI said. – Rappler.com