NOURNEWS- The war in Gaza is the latest event that has turned into a killing ground for journalists.
According to the “Committee to Protect Journalists” also known as the CPJ, 29 journalists have been killed since 7 October until now, following the Zionist regime's attack on Gaza, 24 of the said 29 killed journalists were Palestinians. Also, eight journalists have been injured, and nine journalists have disappeared.
In the midst of the Zionist regime's attack on Gaza, the Committee to Protect Journalists, while warning about the access to Internet and communication tools in Gaza being cut off, has stated that such an action has caused a serious vacuum in information.
30% increase in journalist casualties rate in last year
The International Federation of Journalists announced the death of 67 journalists in the world in a report last year, and stated that this figure was 47 in the previous year (2021).
This international federation also announced that the number of deaths of journalists were increased by 30% in 2021.
Death of 1700 journalists in 20 years
The Reporters Without Borders organization also stated last year that between 2003 and 2022 were deadly years for journalists and during these two decades, around 1,700 journalists were killed in the world.
According to Reporters Without Borders, over the past 20 years, Syria and Iraq have been among the most dangerous countries for journalists, and 578 journalists have lost their lives in these two countries. This statistic constitutes one-third of the journalists killed in the century worldwide.
Reporters Without Borders also stated in its report that the years 2012 and 2013 were “the darkest years due to the war in Syria” for journalists. In 2012, 144 journalists died and in 2013, 142 journalists died in this country.
This is while the deaths of journalists have decreased in an unprecedented way since 2019, but in 2022, due to the war in Ukraine, the deaths of journalists have increased once again.
The interesting point in the report of Reporters Without Borders is that during the last two decades, many journalists have died in safe areas, or in many cases, have been killed due to investigations into organized crimes and corruption.
However, the presence of journalists in dangerous crisis situations such as wars, local conflicts, riots, and natural disasters is a subject that if we pay attention to it and if it is taken into account, there is a possibility that the journalists will be less harmed in these dangerous circumstances,
Journalists are among the most defenseless people present on battlefields and areas of crisis, who are responsible for informing about the existing conditions, and the duty of all national and international organizations and bodies is to be not indifferent to saving journalists' lives.
Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran, recently announced the dispatch of a number of journalists to Gaza along with an Iranian mission ship, but it should not be overlooked that safety equipment for the mission journalists should also be provided and made available to them. The presence of journalists in the surrounding areas of Gaza, in a situation where the criminal regime of Israel does not shy away from raining missiles, aerial attacks, and targeted attacks on various targets, should definitely be done by taking necessary measures so that these journalists can successfully and safely fulfill their valuable mission of reflecting and showing the suffering of the oppressed Palestinian people in Gaza and the barbaric crimes of the Zionist regime to the world.
NOURNEWS