RSF Files Complaint over Israeli War Crimes against Journalists in Gaza

"These reporters were the victims of attacks amounting – at the very least – to war crimes justifying an investigation by the prosecutor of ICC," the watchdog stated.

RSF's complaint was filed with the office of the ICC prosecutor on Tuesday, providing details on nine journalists who lost their lives since October 7 and two others who were injured while carrying out their work. It also highlighted the deliberate, total or partial destruction of over 50 media facilities in Gaza.

According to RSF, a total of 34 journalists have lost their lives since the commencement of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, with at least 12 of them killed while performing their journalistic duties - 10 in Gaza and one in Lebanon.

Christophe Deloire, the secretary-general of RSF, emphasized the urgency of ICC action, stating, "The scale, seriousness, and recurring nature of international crimes targeting journalists, particularly in Gaza, calls for a priority investigation by the ICC prosecutor. We have been calling for this since 2018. The current tragic events demonstrate the extreme urgency of the need for ICC action."

This marks the third complaint filed by RSF with the ICC prosecutor regarding war crimes against Palestinian journalists in Gaza since 2018. The first complaint was submitted in May 2018, addressing journalists killed or injured during the "Great March of Return" protests in Gaza.

The second complaint was filed in May 2021, following Israeli airstrikes targeting more than 20 media establishments in the Gaza Strip. RSF also lent its support to the complaint filed by Al Jazeera regarding the fatal shooting of Palestinian journalist Shirin Abu Akleh in the West Bank on May 11, 2022.