Amid a loosening of Israel’s approach to targeting, a record number of media workers have been killed in Gaza

As Israel’s offensive in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history, its military has repeatedly said it is not deliberately targeting the media…

However, an investigation by the Guardian suggests that amid a loosening of the Israel Defense Force’s interpretation of the laws of war after the deadly Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, some within the IDF appear to have viewed journalists working in Gaza for outlets controlled by or affiliated with Hamas to be legitimate military targets.

A person with knowledge of legal advice given to IDF commanders said journalists working for Hamas-affiliated media were seen to exist within a “grey zone” and there was a “problematic” view among some in the IDF that “whenever there’s someone getting a salary ultimately from Hamas” they were considered to be a legitimate target.

“Hamas invests a lot of resources in its propaganda teams. They often won’t do an activity if they don’t have a photographer. They must document everything,” a military intelligence officer said. “So some will tell you: ‘Look, a Hamasnik is Hamasnik.’”

  • @[email protected]
    -27•5 months ago

    If youre a hamas soldier, you are a valid target. Doesnt matter if you work for Al-Jazeera in your free time.

    • @[email protected]
      18•5 months ago

      ^ disinformation.

      The way this post is written is a lie.

      Journalists aren’t moonlighting as terrorist, what Israel actually said in the article was that they don’t care if you are a journalist or a terrorist, even telling Hamas’s story makes you a valid target for state-sponsored murder.

      This opinion conflicts with international law and makes Israel the one worthy of scrutiny.

      Asked about the al-Aqsa network casualties, a senior IDF spokesperson told reporters in the Gaza project consortium that there was “no difference” between working for the media outlet and belonging to Hamas’s armed wing, a sweeping statement legal experts described as alarming.

      “It’s a shocking statement,” Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University in the US said, describing the position as showing “a complete misunderstanding or just a wilful disregard for international law”. ‘Reporting is not direct participation in hostilities’

      Almost as soon as Israel began its aerial bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas’s assault on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage, the al-Aqsa headquarters were evacuated as executives believed the IDF would target the organisation, two sources said.

      Please stop lying.

      Under the laws of war, a journalist can lose their civilian status if they engage in planning, preparing or carrying out combat operations. Simply working for an organisation such as al-Aqsa does not make someone a legitimate target to be killed.

      “Reporting the news is not direct participation in hostilities,” Janina Dill, a professor at the University of Oxford and expert in the laws of war, said. “Even if they reported the news in a biased way, even if they did propaganda for Hamas, even if Israel fundamentally disagrees with how they report the news. That is not enough.” Combatants and civilians

      Multiple Israeli sources said there had been a permissive approach to targeting across the IDF in a war aimed at the “total destruction of Hamas”.

      Israel is a pseudo-Nazi state carrying out a Holocaust.

        • @Siegfried
          4•5 months ago

          For precaution, mossad is coming your way.

    • @IndustryStandardOP
      5•5 months ago

      Hamas runs the government in Gaza.

      This encapsulates mostly non-military affairs. Like hospitals, schools and in this case a media outlet. Some journalists get paid by the government which is ran by Hamas.

      This is akin to a NPR journalists being classified as a military target because they work for the American government. Or any public hospital staff that gets paid by the government being classified as a valid military target