DUBAI, November 13. /TASS/. Forty-nine journalists covering the situation in the Gaza Strip have been killed since the start of Israel’s ground operation in the enclave, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
According to its data, this represents 4% of the total number of journalists working in this field.
Earlier, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate expressed concern over the fate of dozens of reporters in Gaza who have been out of contact. The organization said that they fear reprisals against them by the Israeli military and called on the staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations to intervene and rescue them. For his part, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that more journalists have been killed in the Palestinian enclave in four weeks than in any other conflict over the past three decades.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.