Complaint filed against Israeli army at ICC

The killing of journalists on the eve of the brutal massacre of Palestinians in Gaza has been filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a global organization working to protect the rights of journalists, filed a complaint on Monday (May 27). The case calls for an investigation into allegations of war crimes against the Israeli military.

According to RSF sources, they applied to the ICC to investigate allegations that at least 9 Palestinian journalists were victims of war crimes by Israeli forces from December 15 to the middle of this month.

This is the third time RSF has filed such a complaint with the ICC. Earlier, the organization made two complaints to the ICC on October 31 and December 22.

In the latest complaint, RSF specifically mentions the killing of eight Palestinian journalists and wounding of one between December 20 and May 20. All these journalists were killed in the line of duty, RSF said in a statement.

Last January, the ICC said it was investigating possible crimes against journalists since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. More than 100 journalists have been killed in this ongoing conflict.

RSF says that some of these journalists have been killed in a planned manner. Others have 'reasonable grounds' to believe they were victims of deliberate attacks on civilians by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

RSF director Antoine Bernard said, 'Those who are killing journalists are essentially attacking the public's right to information. This right (to information) is even more essential in times of conflict.'

The complaint filed by RSF also names two Al-Jazeera journalists killed in January. They are Hamza Wael Dahdoh and Mustafa Thuria. They were killed by Israeli forces on their way to gather news in the Gaza Strip.

Last week, ICC Chief Counsel Karim Khan requested the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. At the same time, he applied for an arrest warrant against the three Hamas leaders in connection with the October 7 attack in Israel. However, the ICC judges panel has not given any decision on this matter yet.

The Committee to Protect ists (CPJ), a New York-based organization working on the rights of journalists, said at least 107 journalists have been killed in the ongoing Gaza war. This is the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began collecting data in 1992.

On October 7, Israel was attacked by fighters of Palestinian independence organizations including Hamas. About 1,200 Israelis were killed. In addition, Palestinian fighters captured and brought about 250 people to Gaza.

After that, the Israeli forces started an all-out operation in the besieged Gaza Strip. More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the last 7 months of indiscriminate Israeli attacks. Most of the Palestinians killed were children and women. In addition, more than 150 staff members of UNRWA were killed in addition to journalists.