12/08/2025 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“I am appalled by the killings of five Al Jazeera journalists, including prominent reporter Anas al-Sharif, in a targeted Israeli strike near Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital last Sunday,” said Saskia Kluit (Netherlands, SOC), Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on “The absolute and urgent need to end the humanitarian crisis for women, children and the hostages in Gaza”.
She underlined that a few days before this attack, Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, warning that Al-Sharif’s life was in danger because of unfounded accusations by the Israeli army, said that “on the one hand, Israel refuses to allow any international journalists to enter Gaza, and on the other, it ruthlessly smears, threatens, obstructs, targets and kills the few local journalists remaining as the only eyes of the outside world on the ongoing genocide.”
“The targeted assassination on Sunday was another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom,” Ms Kluit said.
“It can only be concluded that the killings, attacks, arbitrary detention and harassment of journalists in Gaza are part of a deliberate strategy on the part of the Israel government to suppress the truth, obstruct the documentation of international crimes and bury any possibility of future accountability,” she added.
The Rapporteur reiterates the importance of free press in a democratic society and the responsibilities of conflicting parties to guarantee the safety of journalists, especially those working in zones of military conflict. “Journalists are entitled to protection as civilians under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions.
As the famine takes further grip in Gaza and starving women and children are killed for seeking humanitarian aid, it is more important than ever to protect and allow journalists to document and convey the tragic reality to the world.
The pace of the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza is horrifying and must be met now with an immediate ceasefire and an urgent and efficient large-scale response. Airdrops and militarised distribution points are not an answer. Almost 1 400 Gazans have died seeking the food they need to live at these distribution points, while others have been killed or injured by airdrops.
Humanitarian organisations have the know-how, tools and experience to prevent and treat malnutrition and famine The refusal to grant them access to save lives before it is no longer possible to do so is incomprehensible.
All countries must now fulfil their obligation to enforce international humanitarian law and prevent further famine. The pleas for action of the most respected international non-governmental organisations, intergovernmental organisations, and citizens across the world cannot be dismissed or ignored,” Ms Kluit said.
The Rapporteur calls on States to take the necessary political, economic and diplomatic measures to ensure that Israel respects its obligations under international law,
Recalling Resolution 2582 (2025) and Resolution 2609 (2025), the Rapporteur calls on Israel to immediately allow access to the Gaza Strip for local and foreign journalists and to facilitate their work in safe conditions. She again urges Israel to take the measures needed, in full co-operation with the United Nations, including UNRWA, to ensure immediately the unhindered and widespread provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance including by opening all land crossing points to stop the slide into further famine and needless deaths in Gaza.