PARIS: Reporters Without Borders, an NGO dedicated to defending press freedom, submitted a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday, alleging war crimes related to the deaths of journalists in the ongoing Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
The complaint by RSF pertains to “war crimes committed against Palestinian journalists in Gaza” during the ongoing Israeli air strikes and genocide against Palestinians. The situation in Gaza saw extensive damage to residential buildings, schools, mosques, and hospitals.
Specifically, the complaint focuses on “eight Palestinian journalists who were killed in Israeli bombardments of civilian areas in Gaza, stated in the organization’s press release.
War Crimes Against Journalists in Gaza
The complaint also addresses the “deliberate, total or partial, destruction of the premises of over 50 media outlets in Gaza.”
The Gaza health ministry reports that the Israeli bombings have claimed the lives of more than 8,796 Palestinians, with women and children accounting for two-thirds of the casualties. Since Israel launched brutal air strikes on October 7, around 3,648 were children. The health ministry said that 22,219 people have been wounded in these attacks.
RSF asserts that “the attacks suffered by Palestinian journalists in Gaza align with the international humanitarian law definition of an indiscriminate attack and thus constitute war crimes.
The ICC can receive cases from governments and the UN Security Council, as well as from its own prosecutor. RSF hopes that the court’s prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan, will accept the complaint and initiate an investigation.
RSF has also called on the prosecutor to investigate all 34 cases of journalists who have lost their lives since October 7.
