By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - Pro-Palestinian protesters held a vigil Monday in Washington, DC to remember journalists killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The group gathered outside the main media offices and studios, including Fox and NBC in the nation’s capital to raise their voices against Israel's killing of journalists.
Late Sunday, Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza correspondents Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh and three others were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a journalists’ tent near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
According to Gaza's Government Media Office, the journalist death toll has risen to 238 since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in late 2023.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal military offensive on Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 61,000 Palestinians, almost half of them women and children. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Despite mounting international concerns about escalating ethnic cleansing and genocide against Palestinians, Israel's Security Cabinet on Friday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to expand military operations and occupy Gaza City.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice, in its interim ruling on Gaza last year, said that it is "plausible" that Israel's actions could amount to genocide.
The court issued provisional measures, requiring Israel to abide by international law and ensure aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza.