IRIB World Service in response to assassination of journalists in Gaza: The voice of truth will not be silenced

Pars Today – The World Service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), in a statement, condemned the recent terrorist attack by the Zionist regime on the journalists' tent in Gaza.

In the early hours of Monday, the army of the Zionist regime attacked the journalists' tent located in front of the main entrance of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, martyring six journalists and cameramen, including journalists from Al Jazeera network. According to Pars Today, following the terrorist attack, the IRIB World Service issued the following statement:

The World Service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), with utmost sorrow and anger, strongly condemned the brutal assassination of the honorable martyrs, Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa, Mohammed Noufal, and Mohammed al-Khaldiin, in the attack on journalists’ tents around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, carried out by the Zionist regime.

This criminal act, which is part of a series of targeted attacks on media personnel in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is not only an attack on the lives of defenseless people but also an assault on truth, freedom of expression, and the fundamental right of people worldwide to access independent news and information and to hear the voices of those suffering under the clear genocide by the fake Israeli regime in the bloody Gaza Strip, who are subjected to shameless and unprecedented crimes.

According to the principles of international law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and the First Additional Protocol (1977), journalists are recognized as civilians and enjoy full immunity in areas of armed conflict.
Attacking them is a clear example of a "war crime," which is prosecutable and punishable under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, the Zionist regime, under the political support and unlawful immunities granted by certain Western powers, has for years continued its policy of physically eliminating journalists and has effectively trampled all norms and rules of international humanitarian law. Following last night’s attack, it brazenly admitted to this targeted action.

The recent cowardly assassination is part of an organized process aimed at silencing the voice of truth in Gaza and preventing the oppressed people of Gaza from conveying their narrative to the global public opinion.

Independent international organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have repeatedly warned about the unprecedented rise in the number of journalists killed in Palestine and have called for an impartial and immediate investigation into these crimes; however, the weakness and inaction of international bodies in enforcing justice have sent the message to the occupying regime that it can violate the law without fear of punishment.
The IRIB World Service, while emphasizing that targeting journalists is a serious violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, considers this action a direct attack on the right of nations to be informed.

The world today needs journalists who courageously convey the truth more than ever, and any effort to silence this voice is an effort against freedom and justice.

We call on the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court, and organizations defending journalists' rights to decisively and without double standards investigate this crime and bring its perpetrators and masterminds to justice.

We also invite all free media around the world not to remain silent in the face of this horrific act and, through solidarity and unity of voice, to ensure that the blood of Palestinian journalists is not forgotten.

The IRIB World Service, while expressing deep sympathy with the families of the recently martyred journalists, pledges to the families of the 238 martyred journalists in oppressed Gaza and its resilient people to step forward with all its strength in covering the realities and exposing the dimensions of the Zionist regime’s crimes.

The voice of truth will not be silenced, and the blood of Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa, Mohammed Noufal, and Mohammed al-Khaldiin will root the sapling of freedom and liberation more deeply in our hearts.

MG