By Ayhan Mehmet and Efe Ozkan
KOMOTINI, Greece/ISTANBUL (AA) – The Hellenic Photographic Society (EFE), the oldest amateur photography association in Greece, condemned an Israeli attack earlier this week on Nasser Hospital in Gaza that killed 20 Palestinians, including five members of the press.
“Targeting those who record and convey the truth is the most blatant form of censorship. We will not be silenced,” it said Wednesday in a statement.
It emphasized that medical teams, rescue workers and journalists who arrived at the scene after the first bombardment were targeted in a second attack, revealing once again that press workers are being systematically targeted.
The statement said that Israel's attacks on journalists were aimed at “preventing the truth from being seen on the ground” and pointed out that the number of media personnel who have lost their lives since the beginning of Israel's attacks in October 2023 has exceeded 240.
The statement, which also included data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, emphasized that the number of Palestinians killed in Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has surpassed 62,800 and is expected to exceed 90,000 by the end of the year and that 31% of the civilians killed were children.
It underscored that the international community must provide both legal and physical protection to press workers, demanding the implementation of Greece's 2015 decision to recognize Palestine and the suspension of military and economic cooperation with Israel.
The strikes on Nasser Hospital were the second Israeli attack on journalists in less than a month. On Aug. 10, Israeli forces killed six journalists, including four working for the Qatari Al Jazeera channel.
Among the deceased in the Aug. 25 attack was Hussam al-Masri, who worked as a photojournalist for the Reuters news agency, while Al Jazeera confirmed that its photojournalist and cameraman Mohammad Salama was also killed.
A medical source confirmed to Anadolu the death of photojournalist Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for multiple international news outlets including the Associated Press.
Photojournalist Moaz Abu Taha from NBC News was also killed in the strike.
Medical sources told Anadolu that Ahmed Abu Aziz, a freelance reporter with Tunisian and Moroccan news sites, died of injuries in the Israeli strike.
Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his 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 for its war on the enclave.