Nordamerikanske journalister fordømte torsdag Israels drab på journalister i Gaza. Blandt de snart 11.000 civile Israel har dræbt i Gaza siden 7/10 er der mindst 35 journalister iflg. Komiteen til beskyttelse af Journalister. Det gør Israels krig mod Palæstina til den blodigste siden komiteen begyndte at indsamle statistik i 1992. Udover drab på journalister har Israel hindret journalister i at komme, bombet nyhedsbureauernes kontorer, truet dem drab ved enten at udtale, at Israel "ikke kan garantere for deres sikkerhed", eller som i tilfældet med fotojournalister 7/10 direkte at true dem med henrettelse. Israels årtier lange drab på og forfølgelse af journalister har dermed taget et kvantespring i den helt forkerte retning.

Organisationen fordømmer samtidig de vestlige mediers censur og fordrejning af konflikten. Den skriver:

We also hold Western newsrooms accountable for dehumanizing rhetoric that has served to justify ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Double-standards, inaccuracies and fallacies abound in American publications and have been well-documented. More than 500 journalists signed an open letter in 2021 outlining concerns that U.S. media outlets ignore Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. Yet the call for fair coverage has gone unanswered.

Newsrooms have instead undermined Palestinian, Arab and Muslim perspectives, dismissing them as unreliable and have invoked inflammatory language that reinforces Islamophobic and racist tropes. They have printed misinformation spread by Israeli officials and failed to scrutinize indiscriminate killing of civilians in Gaza — committed with the support of the U.S. government. 

Den fortsætter:

We are renewing the call for journalists to tell the full truth without fear or favor. To use precise terms that are well-defined by international human rights organizations, including “apartheid,” “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide.” To recognize that contorting our words to hide evidence of war crimes or Israel’s oppression of Palestinians is journalistic malpractice and an abdication of moral clarity.

The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated. It is imperative that we change course.