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Israel must explain killing of journalists in Gaza Strip — German Foreign Ministry

If Israel says that the attack was directed at one person, it is necessary to answer the question of why a total of five of his colleagues were killed, a representative of the ministry noted

BERLIN, August 11. /TASS/. The German Foreign Ministry said Israel must explain the recent killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip.

At a briefing in Berlin, a representative of the German Foreign Ministry noted that the killing of media workers is "absolutely unacceptable" under international humanitarian law. "If it comes to this, as it just happened, then the party that committed such a murder should clearly and openly explain why it was necessary," the representative of the Foreign Ministry said, adding that so far this has not happened.

If Israel says that the attack was directed at one person, it is necessary to answer the question of why a total of five of his colleagues were killed, he noted. The representative of the German Foreign Ministry pointed out that the German government advocates the need to protect journalists.

"In our opinion, it is now the turn of the Israeli side to provide explanations in the most transparent and understandable way possible," he said. Israel, he continued, must ensure that journalists in the Gaza Strip can "do their work freely and safely."

According to the German Foreign Ministry, 200 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of Israel's war with Hamas in October 2023. A ministry spokesman said that such a large number of victims was "completely unacceptable."

Earlier, Qatari’s Al Jazeera said four of its employees were killed in Gaza by an Israeli strike - reporters Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Kreika, as well as two cameramen. Later, another channel operator was added to the list of dead. At the time of the Israeli drone attack, which took place shortly before midnight local time, they were in a tent for journalists located at the entrance to the Al-Shifa hospital. In total, seven people were killed in the bombing.

The Israeli army said it had eliminated "terrorist Anas al-Sharif, who posed as a journalist for the Al Jazeera television channel." According to the military, he led one of the units of the Palestinian Hamas movement and was "responsible for rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and military personnel.".