NEW YORK, Mar 01 (APP): The leaders of more than 30 news organizations from across the world, including Pakistan, have joined an open letter affirming their solidarity with journalists reporting from besieged Gaza.
The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) with the support of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), demonstrates strong and unified support for colleagues reporting from Gaza in the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented by CPJ.
Heads the major global news agencies — Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP), and Reuters — were prominent on the list of 36 signatories.
From Pakistan, Rameeza Nizami, Managing Director of the Nawaiwaqt Group, signed the letter.
“For nearly five months, journalists and media workers in Gaza – overwhelmingly, the sole source of on-the-ground reporting from within the Palestinian territory – have been working in unprecedented conditions,” the letter reads. “…These journalists – on whom the international news media and the international community rely for information about the situation inside Gaza – continue to report despite grave personal risk.”
The letter goes on to remind the international community that journalists are civilians and authorities must protect journalists as noncombatants according to international law.
A total of at least 94 journalists have been killed in Israel’s war against Gaza; the majority of them (89) were Palestinians killed by the Israeli military.
Besides Pakistan, the signatories include outlets from Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, India, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, the Philippines, Qatar, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
