Michigan - The American Center for Justice (ACJ) said that the continued targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip is a crime that requires a responsible international stance to stop it, expressing its condemnation and concern about the escalation of these violations. It also calls on countries supporting Israel to review their policies, which contributed to the crimes committed by the Israeli army.

The ACJ indicates that it closely follows the recent field developments in the Gaza Strip with great concern, the most recent of which was the direct targeting of the Al Jazeera crew in the southern Gaza Strip, which resulted in the killing of the channel’s cameraman, “Samer Abu Daqqa,” and the injury of the channel’s office director in the Strip, “Wael Al-Dahdouh.” According to field information followed by the center, “Al-Dahdouh” was injured in the hand, shoulder, and abdomen by fragments of a missile fired from a “reconnaissance” aircraft while covering the Israeli army’s targeting of the vicinity of the “Farhana” school in central Khan Yunis, which houses thousands of displaced people. Meanwhile, ambulances were unable to reach the Al Jazeera cameraman, “Abu Daqqa,” who bled for five hours and then died because he was directly targeted by a drone. At the same time, Israeli aircraft violently bombed the school’s vicinity more than once, which led to the medical teams being unable to reach the Al Jazeera cameraman. The American Center for Justice (ACJ) indicates that official figures showed that 90 journalists were killed within 70 days due to Israeli army targeting. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate documented the bombing of the homes of at least 38 journalists and the killing of dozens of their family members, including the deliberate targeting of the family of journalist Wael al-Dahdouh, correspondent of Al Jazeera, which resulted in the killing of his wife, two of his sons, and his youngest grandson.

The ACJ confirms that the violations it monitors against journalists, media professionals, and their families in the Gaza Strip shows that the Israeli army deliberately uses direct death threats to discourage journalists from carrying out their work, in an attempt to silence the voice of truth conveyed by these journalists who highlight the crimes of genocide and forced displacement the Israeli army has been committing for more than two months against civilians and defenseless women and children.

It must be emphasized that the United States of America and many European Union countries also bear responsibility for the crimes, which are recorded for the first time in modern history, through their support of Israel under the pretext of “self-defense". These countries turn a blind eye on the the hundreds of massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip and the stifling humanitarian crisis suffered by about 1.9 million Gazans due to the depletion of basic goods, the bombing of hospitals, the displacement of the population, and the denial of fuel and medical and humanitarian supplies.

In conclusion, the American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls on the United States of America to stop all forms of military support provided to Israel that contribute to the killing of innocent people in the Gaza Strip. We also call on the European Union countries in particular and the international community in general to take serious and rapid action and put pressure on Israel to stop their continued violations of international laws and norms that guarantee  special protection for civilians - including journalists - and to end the war, open urgent humanitarian corridors, and bring medical aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.