CAIR Urges US Media to Condemn Israeli Strikes Killing Journalists in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Monday called on US media outlets to denounce Israel’s recent attacks that have killed journalists in the Gaza Strip.
"The lives of journalists who are Muslim, Palestinian, or people of color should matter to media outlets just as much as journalists who are white, European, or Christian," CAIR said in a statement.
The statement followed the deaths of Hossam Shabat, a correspondent for Qatar-based Al Jazeera Mubasher, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, and Mohammad Mansour, a reporter for Palestine Today TV, who died in another strike that hit his apartment in Khan Younis.
CAIR said Israel targeted the journalists "solely because they shed light on the atrocities of the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza."
Meanwhile, the Red Crescent Society said on Tuesday that Israel continued to block a rescue mission for nine Palestinian paramedics trapped in Rafah, southern Gaza.
"For the third consecutive day, the fate of nine Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crew members remains unknown after they were besieged and targeted by Israeli occupation forces in Rafah," the organization said in a statement.
The medical team was attacked and surrounded on Sunday while attempting to rescue injured civilians in Rafah. The group expressed deep concern for their safety and held Israel fully accountable for their fate.
Israel has carried out an aerial campaign on Gaza since March 18, despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in January. At least 730 people have been killed and nearly 1,200 injured, according to local health officials.
Since October 2023, at least 208 journalists have been killed in Gaza, authorities said Monday.
More than 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and over 113,000 wounded in Israel’s military operations on Gaza since October.
In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its actions in the enclave.
