A branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has delivered a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent answers on the killing of journalists in Gaza, ahead of a vigil outside Downing Street. The London freelance branch requested clarity on what measures the Government is taking to ensure surviving Palestinian journalists can continue reporting, and how it will support an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into what it describes as the “blatant targeting of journalists and media workers by Israeli forces”. Representatives were photographed outside Number 10 delivering the letter before the vigil, where members held cards remembering journalists confirmed killed and read out their names.
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At least 189 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since hostilities resumed in October 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Israel denies deliberately targeting reporters and has claimed some of the journalists killed were “terrorists”. Speaking outside Number 10, Pennie Quinton, chairwoman of the branch, stated: “We are calling for justice, for an independent investigation, and for international journalists to be allowed into Gaza to work alongside their Gazan colleagues and to bring the truth of what’s happening in Gaza out.”
Foreign media have been largely banned from Gaza since October 2023, apart from brief, tightly controlled trips escorted by the Israeli military. The NUJ branch, representing more than 3,000 freelance journalists, asked the Prime Minister how the Government is ensuring non-Palestinian reporters can enter Gaza and report freely without Israeli supervision. The letter also raised concerns about providing people in the region with “immediate safe access to food, water and necessary equipment”.
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The letter referenced high-profile journalists killed, including Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qreiqeh, who were sheltering outside Shifa Hospital when struck. Other journalists were killed during a double strike on Nasser Hospital on 25 August, including staff from The Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Reuters, and UK-based Middle East Eye. The NUJ emphasised the need for international action to end impunity, quoting general secretary Laura Davison: “The Israeli military openly admits to these atrocities, bringing into sharp focus the need for international action to protect journalists, uphold international law and support an ICC investigation. There must be immediate international action to end this obscene behaviour.”
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