We address you today in the wake of yet another heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation, which targeted the Al Jazeera media crew in the Gaza Strip on the evening of Sunday, 10 August 2025. This attack forms part of a deliberate policy aimed at silencing journalists and eliminating witnesses to the ongoing crimes of genocide committed since 7 October 2023 against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Since the beginning of the Israeli assault on Gaza, journalists have been repeatedly and deliberately targeted, resulting in the killing of 238 journalists and the injury of dozens more while performing their professional duty of covering events and conveying the truth to the world. This repeated pattern of crimes confirms the existence of a systematic policy to silence free voices and erase evidence of grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
Documented facts indicate that most of these crimes occurred despite the clear identification of journalists and their wearing of internationally recognised press insignia. This renders them fully-fledged war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and constitutes a blatant violation of Article 79 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, as well as a flagrant breach of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The recurrence of such crimes, in the absence of any form of international accountability, encourages the continuation of this culture of impunity, poses a grave threat to press freedom worldwide, and sends the dangerous message that journalists can be killed without consequence.
We remind you that the European Parliament has consistently affirmed its commitment to protecting press freedom and the right of peoples to access the truth. Failure to take a clear stand now will place you among those complicit through silence and undermine your institution’s credibility before European and global public opinion.
Accordingly, we demand that you:
1. Issue an urgent resolution from the European Parliament condemning the targeting of journalists in Gaza and calling for the prosecution of those responsible.
2. Urge your governments to impose individual sanctions on Israeli political and military leaders involved in these crimes.
3. Support an urgent international investigation, under the supervision of the International Criminal Court, into crimes targeting journalists in Palestine.
4. Suspend any military or security cooperation agreements with Israel until the targeting of journalists and civilians ceases.
We hold the international community responsible for perpetuating the culture of impunity that emboldens the occupation to commit further crimes against journalists. We stress that safeguarding press freedom and protecting journalists is not only a moral duty, but also a binding legal obligation under international law.
Geneva Centre for Democracy and Human Rights
International Justice Forum – Istanbul
International Union of Jurists – Geneva