TEHRAN – Freedom Day for World Reporters Iran is responding to the systematic killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, enabling Israel and its western allies (the US at the very best) to campaign for genocide and information suppression.
Esmaeir Baghihai, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, provided scathing criticism of the intentional targeting of Gaza journalists in Israel, noting that the regime’s actions are encouraged by unshakable Western support. “The Israeli apartheid administration would not have been able to carry out such a systematic attack on its supporters, particularly journalists without US collusion,” Baghey said in a previous Twitter post on X on Saturday.
Baghey paid tribute to the courage of Palestinian media workers who risked their lives and often lost, covering Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. “We were victims of the massacre campaign they were trying to reveal, honoring more than 200 journalists, photographers and videographers,” he said. “They aimed to document the pain and suffering of the Palestinians and to expose the crimes of colonial occupyers.”
The spokesman also reiterated the Iranian position that Israeli military operations could share responsibility for the atrocities. “No one who supports, defends or remains silent in the face of Israeli war crimes, particularly those who face America, will be held responsible,” he declared.
His remarks come in the wake of October 7, 2023, which has sparked international criticism of the treatment of Israeli journalists since the outbreak of the war with Gaza.
The Watson International Public Service Institute, a US-based think tank, reported that 232 journalists and media workers have been killed since the conflict began, and that an average of 13 journalists have died each week in Israeli artillery shelling.
In addition to the fatality, the government media office in Gaza reported that 409 media experts were injured, 48 arrested and 21 social media influencers were killed. The same report noted that the families of 28 journalists were completely wiped out and 44 homes belonging to media workers have been destroyed. The damage to Gaza’s media infrastructure, including news outlets and broadcasting facilities, is estimated at $400 million.
“These are not isolated cases,” said Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of the Gaza media office. “This is a systematic attempt to silence the press and erase genocide documents.”
Rights groups, including the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, have described the attack as a war crime under the International Criminal Court’s Roman law. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has submitted evidence to the ICC, suggesting that Israeli military intentionally targeted journalists.
Legal pressure was rampant when ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20, 2024 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Joav Gallant had requested an arrest warrant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Previously, on October 13, 2024, IFJ and its global affiliates urged UNESCO to enhance protections for journalists and promote the removal of escalations in conflict. They warned that the ongoing targeting of media workers not only constitutes a humanitarian crisis, but also undermines global efforts to maintain freedom of the press.