Cuba condemns murder of journalists in Gaza

HAVANA, Cuba, August 26 (ACN) In an official statement, the Circle of War Correspondents of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC) strongly condemns the murder of five journalists on Monday during Israel’s double strike against the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza.

The text describes as execrable the attack that left 20 people dead, including a first responder, three hospital workers, and a senior medical student, according to witnesses and local sources, as well as an effort to hush up the press and keep the world from learning about the atrocities committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian civilian population which has caused the deaths of more than 200 journalists, at least 56 of them in the line of duty, since October 2023.

Among those killed on Monday were the cameraman Husam al-Masri (Reuters), who was broadcasting live from a rooftop; Mariam Dagga (AP); Mohammad Salama (Al Jazeera); Ahmed Abu Aziz (Middle East Eye; and the photographer Moaz Abu Taha, whereas another photographer, Hatem Khaled (Reuters), was wounded in the second attack.
“This deadly bombing by Zionist troops on August 25th comes two weeks after six journalists, including four from Al Jazeera, were killed in a targeted bombing near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza”, the statement remarks. “[We] condemn Israel’s action against and disrespect for the work of journalists in this conflict zone, where one of the worst genocides in world history is currently being committed with the acquiescence of the United States and other Western powers”.

Official figures provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health and international UN agencies have it that, to date, more than 62,000 people have died at the hands of the Israeli army, including some 1,600 health workers, 310 from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 120 academics, and more than 200 journalists.

“However”, the Cuban organization warns, “thousands more bodies are believed to lie under the rubble of the destroyed buildings, and it is estimated that 80% of the Palestinian dead are civilians”. (…) The UPEC War Correspondents' Circle demands an immediate end to this genocide and respect for international agreements regarding the work of the press under war conditions. Palestine is also our cause and will always have our unconditional support”.