The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned this Wednesday the death of 34 journalists since the conflict between Hamas and Israel began on October 7.

From this figure nine cases were referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation for presenting indications that they may be war crimes.

“These reporters have been the victims of attacks that amount to, at a minimum, war crimes, which justify the investigation of the TPI prosecutor,” the non-governmental organization said in a statement, which also referred to the deliberate destruction, total or partial, of the headquarters of more than 50 media outlets in the Gaza Strip.

“The scale, severity and recurrent nature of international crimes against journalists, especially in Gaza, “They demand a priority investigation by the TPI prosecutor,” said RSF Secretary General Christophe Deloire.

“We have been asking for this since 2018.”says Deloire, whose organization puts the number of journalists killed since the start of hostilities between Israel and Hamas at 34, of whom 12 were working at the time of their deaths – ten in the Gaza Strip, one in Israel and one in Lebanon. – .

The complaint under consideration relates to Eight Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli bombing of civilian areas of Gaza, already an Israeli journalist died on October 7 while covering a Hamas attack on the kibbutz where he lived.

Regarding the deaths of Palestinian journalists, the NGO explains that, according to international humanitarian law, These are war crimes because they were victims of indiscriminate attacks. Because, despite the Israeli version that the strikes were aimed at military targets, they “caused clearly excessive and disproportionate damage to the civilian population.”

As for the Israeli reporter, his death represents “premeditated murder of a person protected by the Geneva Convention” which constitutes a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the ICC.

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NGO demands TPI from prosecutor’s office determine the exact nature of these crimes and investigate all cases of murders of journalists after October 7. Since 2018, RSF has filed a total of three war crimes complaints against Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

The death toll from the Israeli army’s offensive on the Gaza Strip after increased to approximately 8800, As indicated this Wednesday by the authorities of the Palestinian enclave controlled by the Islamist group. Hamas attacks have killed about 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 240, according to Israel’s balance sheet.

(according to information from Europe Press)