GAZA, (PIC)
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation has committed a new crime against journalism by assassinating journalist Mohammed Washah, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher in Gaza.
In a press statement, Qassem said the killing is part of a long series of crimes targeting journalists in the Gaza Strip, aimed at preventing the world from seeing the reality of the genocide that the Israeli occupation continues to carry out.
He added that international and human rights organizations now face a real test of their credibility, calling on them to take serious and effective action to pressure the Israeli occupation to halt its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.
On Wednesday evening, Israeli forces killed two Palestinian civilians, including journalist Mohammed Washah, by targeting their vehicle west of Gaza City.
The Government Media Office confirmed in a statement the death of journalist Mohammed Samir Washah, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, raising the number of journalists killed by Israeli forces in Gaza to 262 since the start of the war.
The office strongly condemned the systematic targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists and called on the International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union, and all media organizations worldwide to denounce these ongoing crimes against journalists and media workers in Gaza.
It held the Israeli occupation, along with the United States administration and countries involved in the genocide, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, fully responsible for these brutal crimes.
The office also called on the international community, global media, and human rights organizations to condemn the Israeli actions, pursue legal accountability through international courts, and bring those responsible to justice.
It urged serious and effective pressure to stop genocide, to protect journalists in Gaza, and to end the continued killing and targeting of media professionals.
Since October, Israeli forces have continued to violate the ceasefire in Gaza through artillery shelling, airstrikes, gunfire from military vehicles and naval forces, and the demolition and destruction of buildings across the Strip.
These violations have left hundreds of victims and thousands injured, with bodies still being recovered from affected areas.
According to the Ministry of Health, the cumulative toll since the start of the genocidal war has reached tens of thousands killed and over a hundred thousand injured.
