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Human rights groups have urged the International Criminal Court to determine whether the Israeli air strikes that destroyed the construction of houses and media stores in Gaza constitute a war crime.
Israeli missile Flat The 13-storey Al-Jalaa Tower in Gaza City was provided by Al Jazeera Media Network in Qatar and the Associated Press of the U.S. News Agency on Saturday.
Israel claims that the building not only houses a press bureau, but also has a Hamas office that controls the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military gave the owner of the building an hour to evacuate before it attacked and evacuated it via live TV.
Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom watchdog, said in a statement: “Intentionally targeting the media constitutes a war crime.”
“The IDF’s intentional destruction of media channels not only caused unacceptable material losses to news operations, but also prevented media coverage of conflicts that directly affected the civilian population.”
Deloire added: “We call on the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court to determine whether these air strikes constitute war crimes.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken said on Monday that he has not seen any evidence to support Israel’s claims about Hamas’ activities in the building. Blink said that he urged Israel to defend the barbaric attack.
“The Model of Collective Punishment”
Saleh Hijazi, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa region, told Al Jazeera that Israel tried to hide what it did from the people of Gaza and Gaza, adding that since 2012, Amnesty International has been It is forbidden to enter the enclave.
He said: “Since 2014, we have now conducted an ICC investigation on the situation in the Palestinian territories. We call on the ICC to investigate this incident,” he said, referring to the bombing of the international media office by Israeli forces.
Hijazi added: “Even if there are legitimate military targets there, it would be disproportionate to attack a building in this way.”
“Such a disproportionate attack is tantamount to a war crime. Moreover, it is a model of collective punishment for the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
‘Independent appearance’
At the same time, the top editor of the Associated Press called for an independent investigation of the Israeli air strikes, saying that the public should know the facts.
Associated Press executive editor Sally Buzbee said on Sunday that the Israeli government had not provided clear evidence to support its attack, which completely razed Al-Jalaa Tower to the ground.
“We are in a conflict situation,” Bouzby said. “We have no position in that conflict. We heard the Israelis say that they have evidence. We don’t know what that evidence is. At this point, it is best to conduct an independent investigation of what happened yesterday. An independent investigation.”
The pro-Palestinian boycott, divestment, and the sanctions movement also stated that the Israeli attack on Al Jazeera and the Associated Press in Gaza constituted war crimes under international law, adding that the prejudices of the mainstream media directly led to Israel’s impunity.
It said in a statement: “No matter how shaken Israel is and Israel’s attacks on journalists are routine and planned, this recent Israeli attack in Gaza, like many other attacks, constitutes collective punishment. International law is a war crime,” it said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the strike on Sunday, saying that the building also hosted a Palestinian “terrorist” intelligence office.
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