“RSF filed a complaint for war crimes with the ICC prosecutor’s office on October 31, 2023. It details the cases of nine of the journalists killed since October 7, and two injured in the exercise of their duties. functions”, indicates RSF.
This complaint concerns “eight Palestinian journalists, killed in bombings of civilian areas in Gaza by Israel, and an Israeli journalist, killed on October 7 while covering the attack on his kibbutz by Hamas.” It also mentions “the intentional destruction, total or partial, of the premises of more than 50 media outlets in Gaza.”
“The scale, gravity and recurrence of international crimes targeting journalists, particularly in Gaza, call for a priority investigation by the ICC prosecutor. We have been calling for this since 2018. The current tragic events demonstrate the extreme urgency of its mobilization”, underlined Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the NGO.
31 journalists killed since October 7
The ICC, which can be seized by States, by the UN Security Council or by the prosecutor himself (self-referral), is not obliged to take up this complaint. According to RSF’s count, 34 journalists have been killed since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, at least twelve of whom died in the exercise of their activity (ten in Gaza, one in Israel and one in Lebanon). .
Concerning Lebanon, which is not a state party to the ICC, “RSF is studying the possibilities of bringing these cases before other competent jurisdictions,” according to the press release. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), based in the United States, on Monday counted at least 31 journalists killed since October 7, including 26 Palestinians, four Israelis and a Lebanese.
The CPJ, which counts victims in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese border, also counted eight injured and nine journalists missing or detained, in a press release. This toll is already the deadliest for journalists covering this conflict since the creation of CPJ in 1992, according to this organization.