Ramallah - (16/05/2021) - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the Israeli occupation forces' targeting of journalists and media institutions in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Strip on the eleventh of this month, to conceal the crimes committed against civilians.
MADA Center monitored about 50 violations against media freedoms during these days, which varied from injuries to journalists while they were covering the events, to bombing and destruction of media institutions.
The Israeli occupation forces bombed on Saturday a group of towers that include a large number of media institutions, including the Al-Jawhara Tower, which includes at least 11 media institutions. Al-Jalaa Tower is another building that was completely destroyed although it contained the offices of several media institutions, including Al-Jazeera, the Associated Press, the office of Al-Mayadeen Channel, and others.
Al-Jazeera reporter, Hisham Samir Zaqout (37 years), stated that several warning missiles were fired at Al-Jalaa Tower, located on Ahmed Abdel Aziz Street in the center of Gaza City, half an hour after the owner of the tower received a phone call from the occupation army. However, these missiles did not give them more than ten minutes, as the tower was targeted by three missiles around 3:30 pm, fired from warplanes to completely destroy the tower.
Al-Jazeera has 23 employees working in its office. During this bombing, the channel’s office lost most of its equipment, such as broadcasters, computers, televisions, cables, and archives, except for the cameras that were with the coverage staff outside the office.
Journalist Muhammad Bakr al-Louh (33 years), a reporter for Al-Shabab Radio in Gaza, also reported that he went on Thursday evening 5/12 at 8:30 with two of his colleagues, Muhammad Kassab, who works as a sound engineer in the radio, and Muhammad Musa works as a cameraman for the same radio station, to cover the threat of bombing the Al-Jawhara tower located in the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood in the center of Gaza City. After reaching the scene, they were surprised by the missiles hitting the tower directly, without any warning missiles. The journalist Al-Louh was hit in the right leg by the shelling shrapnel, and he was bruised and suffocated as a result of gas inhalation. After the coverage ended, he was transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital, where he received the necessary treatment. While his colleagues received field treatment as a result of inhaling the gas and dust.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms "MADA", while confirming that these attacks were nothing but a link in a series of widespread, serious and repeated Israeli attacks against media freedoms in Palestine, it renews its demand for international institutions concerned with the protection of journalists and media institutions to pursue the perpetrators of these attacks and bring them to justice. It is proven that the impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes, and other crimes, has over the years been an incentive for them to continue committing crimes.
