Latest news with #al-Sharif
New York Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
The week in whoppers: Bernie Sanders defends Hamas, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's nutty hit on Trump and more
Diary of disturbing disinformation and dangerous delusions This response: CNN's Dana Bash, Sunday: 'Would you say that Hamas has some culpability in people starving?' Sen. Bernie Sanders: 'No.' Advertisement We say: Huh? Hamas started the war that's led to Gaza's suffering. It steals food from civilians. It could end the war, and food shortages, tomorrow — by releasing hostages and surrendering. But, no, per Sanders, the terror group has zero culpability for starvation in Gaza. What's wrong with this guy? Advertisement This remark: 'I don't want to hear about this bulls–t about what y'all's constitutions [say about redistricting].' — Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Saturday We say: Oops. In urging 'blue states' to ignore their constitutions' rules on redistricting and 'redraw [GOPers'] asses out,' Veasey accidentally confirmed what Republicans have long charged: Democrats don't care about law and democracy; they just want power. And will do whatever it takes to get it, legal or not. Advertisement This claim: 'Trump . . . has always been intimidated by the intellectual prowess of black men.' — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Wednesday We say: Wow, Johnson sure pulled this out of nowhere — except maybe his own obsessions with race. Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Advertisement Anyway, Trump took a bullet and never lost a beat, was hit with 91 criminal charges plus a civil fine of nearly a half billion bucks — and won the presidency decisively. He doesn't seem 'intimidated' by anyone. This statement: 'Frankly, I don't care if al-Sharif was in Hamas or not.' — Foreign Press Association president Ian Williams, Tuesday We say: Williams only cares that Anas al-Sharif was a journalist, as if that makes a crime out of the IDF attack that killed him. As for Israel saying he was a Hamas member, Williams blurs that 'Hamas is a political organization — as well as a terrorist organization, perhaps.' Perhaps? Hamas massacred 1,200 innocent Israelis in a single day; there's no doubt it's a terrorist group, and al-Sharif was fair game. — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
How Number of Journalists Killed in Gaza War Compares to WW2, Vietnam, Iraq
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. This is the "deadliest period for journalists" in decades, a press advocacy group has said, after six journalists were killed in an Israeli attack on northern Gaza on Sunday. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a U.S.-based nonprofit, made its assessment based on figures from its database, which includes publicly available information dating back to 1992. Anas al-Sharif, a journalist for Al Jazeera, was killed along with another correspondent, Mohammed Qraiqea, and photographers Ibrahim Al Thaher and Mohamed Nofal in a drone attack on a journalists' tent outside the main gate of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday, Al Jazeera said in a statement. A freelance cameraman, identified as Momen Aliwa, and a freelance journalist, Mohammed al-Khalidi, were also killed, the network said. The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted al-Sharif, saying that he was head of a Hamas terrorist cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel. "A press badge isn't a shield for terrorism," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Filipino activists light candles as they hold photos of Palestinian journalists who were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Gaza, during a protest in Quezon City, Philippines, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. Filipino activists light candles as they hold photos of Palestinian journalists who were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Gaza, during a protest in Quezon City, Philippines, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. AP Photo/Aaron Favila An Arabic-language spokesperson for the IDF had last month posted an image appearing to show al-Sharif alongside Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader killed by Israel in southern Gaza last October. The IDF had previously accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of working with Hamas. A Hamas official said of al-Sharif that they had "no knowledge of his affiliation with the movement or its military apparatus." Al-Sharif himself had denied he was a Hamas member shortly before his death. "The pattern of labeling journalists as terrorists before killing them, effectively granting themselves the authority to extinguish these journalists, has become a specialty of the Israel Defense Forces," Gypsy Guillén Kaiser, advocacy and communications director for the CPJ, told Newsweek. Israel has repeatedly denied targeting journalists and has said it "takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians including journalists." "Remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks," the IDF said. It is difficult to accurately determine how many journalists are killed in a conflict, even in recent years. Those tallying often make a distinction between civilian and military journalists, as well as media representatives who are killed in the line of duty versus those who are killed away from the front lines. Others do not include those working for state-controlled outlets such as the Russian TASS news agency or the Hamas-operated Al Aqsa TV. Figures for the number of journalists killed in conflict zones before the early 1990s are even harder to verify. The CPJ has publicly available information stretching back to 1992. The Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said it had compiled accurate lists of journalist deaths since roughly two years prior. Before this, counts of media representatives killed likely omitted local or less high-profile journalists not working for mainstream outlets, Anthony Bellanger, the IFJ's general secretary, told Newsweek. How Many Journalists Have Been Killed in Gaza? At least 192 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and in Lebanon since October 2023, the CPJ said in a press release updated on August 12 this year. The organization distinguishes between "journalists" (editorial personnel) and "media support workers" (such as drivers, fixers, translators, distribution staff). Its says its database does not include deaths in which "journalists are clearly not killed for their journalism." Nor does it include media support workers unless their death is confirmed as work-related. It is the deadliest period for journalists since its records began in 1992, the CPJ said. It said it is investigating another 130 potential cases of journalists being killed, arrested or injured, as well as media offices and homes being damaged. Of the 192 journalists killed in these areas in close to two years of fighting, 184 were Palestinian, according to the CPJ. Two were Israeli and six were Lebanese journalists. Israel does not allow international media to enter Gaza, with the exception of highly controlled trips stewarded by the IDF. "The abysmal situation faced by journalists in Gaza is an aberration in the field of conflict reporting," Guillén said. Nearly half of journalists killed in Gaza in 2024 were killed by drones, Guillén said, describing this as "a new and growing trend in conflict reporting." Roughly 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive nearly two years ago, press freedom groups say. Roughly 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive nearly two years ago, press freedom groups say. Newsweek Illustration/Canva/Getty/AP Newsroom Other groups broadly agreed with the CPJ's figures. "Nearly 200 journalists have been killed" in this phase of hostilities from late 2023, according to International News Safety Institute. This is "an unprecedented toll in modern conflict reporting," the NGO said in a statement. The IFJ and the Paris-headquartered Reporters sans frontières (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, both told Newsweek they had similar figures. "Unlike other conflicts in the past, where journalists were respected and often even welcomed to document the conflict because there were few or no means of communication, today in Gaza, journalists are very often targeted by the Israeli army," Bellanger of the IFJ said. Of the approximately 200 media operatives killed in Gaza in 22 months of war, around 50 have been deliberately targeted, while many others were killed in strikes impacting civilians in the strip, rather than while reporting, Thibaut Bruttin, RSF's director general, told Newsweek. The Israeli military has said it "has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists." Protection for journalists is enshrined in international law. As civilians, intentionally targeting members of the press is a war crime. Here, Newsweek uses available data from those monitoring groups to compare the death toll in Gaza to previous conflicts. Iraq A U.S.-led coalition of forces invaded Iraq in March 2003, and U.S. combat operations officially ended in 2010. Most Western troops had pulled out of the country by the end of 2011. Across these years, 228 journalists were killed in Iraq, according to the CPJ. Between 100 and 150 journalists were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2006, Bellanger of the IFJ told Newsweek. The RSF's numbers put the number of journalists killed while reporting in Iraq at 242, making it the "the bloodiest war for journalists." "It was somewhat different, in the sense that journalists were really heavily targeted by the military forces," Bruttin said. This included terrorist groups that carried out strikes followed by attacks on the media and first responders arriving at the scene. In February 2007, RSF said it was "deeply concerned by repeated violations of journalists' rights in Iraq." At the time, at least 150 journalists and media workers had been killed in the country, it said. Afghanistan There are varying numbers on how many journalists were killed in Afghanistan. Following 9/11, the U.S. led efforts to remove the Taliban from power and set up a new government in Kabul, setting the stage for two decades of involvement in the country before the Taliban took back control in 2021. According to the CPJ, 76 international and local journalists and media workers were killed in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. In 2018 alone, 16 journalists and two media workers were killed in the country, according to these figures. Other counts come in slightly higher. Between 2010 and 2021, 87 Afghan journalists were killed, according to the IFJ. At least six journalists were killed between the Taliban coming to power in Kabul in August 2021 and November of that year, according to the IFJ. Vietnam The communist regime in North Vietnam—backed by the Soviet Union and China—fought the government in South Vietnam, supported by the U.S., from 1955. The U.S. become directly militarily involved in 1965, until the capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese forces in 1975. RSF research indicates around 60 journalists were killed during the Vietnam War, Bruttin said. One count referenced by the Associated Press in 2006 put the total number of journalists killed or presumed dead during the war at 71. Between 70 and 80 journalists were killed in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975, Bellanger said. Korea The Korean War began in 1950, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea in an attempt to unify the peninsula under communist rule. The North Korean forces were backed by the Soviet Union and later China. South Korea was supported primarily by the U.S. under the auspices of the United Nations. The Korean War lasted three years and was brought to a close with the signing of an armistice agreement in 1953. Approximately ten journalists died, Bellanger said. World War II It is "extremely difficult" to produce a casualty count for journalists during World War II, Bruttin said. Far predating meticulous records, the war sprawled across the civilian populations of many nations. Due to the unavailability of equivalent information, comparing these figures to more recent conflicts such as the war in Gaza is close to impossible. A total of 69 reporters covering the Allied campaign died during World War II, according to a count compiled by Ray Moseley, a former war correspondent. This number includes journalists who died in accidents or from disease. Moseley said that it is not clear how many journalists from the Soviet Union were killed, but that 16 reporters from the state-controlled Red Star newspaper died between mid-1941 and the spring of 1944. The IFJ estimates that between 60 and 80 journalists were killed between 1939 and 1945, Bellanger said. Ukraine A total of 29 journalists and media workers have been killed in Ukraine since 2014, when Moscow seized control of the Crimean peninsula to the south of the mainland and backed separatists in the country's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk region, according to the CPJ. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. Nineteen journalists and media workers have been killed since then, CPJ figures show. The RSF estimates that 15 journalists have been killed in the conflict, Bruttin said. Ukrainian authorities have said 57 journalists have been killed in the country, but the RSF does not include those working for the military or communications operatives into its tally, Bruttin said. Unlike Israel in Gaza, Bruttin said, "other countries have been able to open up to the press — [to] maintain a sense of military censorship to prevent jeopardising their own military operation." "But it has not resulted in the killing of as many journalists as might have been expected or feared," he added. At the same time, Bruttin said, "we're globally seeing an increase in safety for journalists." This is driven by newsrooms putting their teams through more training on operating in conflict zones and equipping them properly, Bruttin said, but also by a feeling among military commanders and politicians that the media should be shielded. From roughly 1985, approximately 100 journalists were killed while carrying out their duties each year, Bruttin said. There was a "sharp decline" from 2018, down to just over half of this number by 2024, he added. "We are in an era where we have more military means to have precision strikes," the RSF chief said. "We have more safety within the newsrooms and more culture of safety," he added. For the last seven years, most of the journalists who have died were killed in non-conflict countries, like Mexico, Bruttin said. "Journalists were collateral victims of war, especially in World War Two and in the Vietnam War as well," Bruttin said. "Now they are targets. They are targeted and hit because they're journalists."
Nahar Net
6 days ago
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Increasing the danger: Journalist killing in Gaza sends a chilling message
Israel's targeted killing of an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza over the weekend was noteworthy even for a conflict remarkably blood-soaked for journalists, leaving some experts to marvel that any news at all emerges from the territory. An Al Jazeera executive said Monday that it won't back down from covering what is going on there and called for news organizations to step up and recruit more journalists. A total of 184 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel in the Gaza war since its start in October 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. That compares to the 18 journalists and media workers killed so far in the Russia-Ukraine war, CPJ said. Aside from rare guided tours, Israel has barred international media from covering the 22-month war in Gaza. News organizations instead rely largely on Palestinian Gaza residents and ingenuity to show the world what is happening there. Israel often questions the affiliations and biases of Palestinian journalists but doesn't permit others in. "You simply are in awe when stories show up," said Jane Ferguson, a veteran war correspondent and founder of Noosphere, an independent platform for journalists. She can't recall a conflict that has been more difficult for reporters to cover, and she's reported from South Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan. Correspondent Anas al-Sharif knew he was a target, and left behind a message to be delivered upon his death. He and seven other people — six of them journalists — were killed in an air strike outside of Gaza City's largest hospital complex on Sunday. Israel swiftly claimed responsibility, saying without producing evidence that al-Sharif had led a Hamas cell. It was a claim the news organization and al-Sharif had denied. The toll of journalists in Gaza has been high Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press, BBC News and Reuters are among the organizations regularly reporting from Gaza. An Aug. 7 AP dispatch vividly described the hunger faced by many in Gaza: "A single bowl of eggplant stewed in watery tomato juice must sustain Sally Muzhed's family of six for the day. She calls it moussaka, but it's a pale echo of the fragrant, lawyered, meat-and-vegetable dish that once filled Gaza's kitchens with its aroma." Other recent AP reports carried images and text reporting from the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church, and a profile of an 18-year-old aspiring doctor now trying to survive sheltered in a tent. Journalists from The Washington Post and the Guardian recently accompanied a Jordanian relief mission and took images of Gaza from the air, despite some restrictions from Israel. The Guardian's Lorenzo Tondo wrote: "Seen from the air, Gaza looks like the ruins of an ancient civilization, brought to light after centuries of darkness." None of the organizations match the power and immediacy of Al Jazeera, however, in part because their correspondents have been in front of cameras. They've also paid the heaviest price: CPJ estimates that 10 journalists and media workers affiliated with AJ have been killed in the Gaza conflict, more than any other single organization. In a social media post written in June to be sent if he was killed, al-Sharif wrote that "I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification — so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent." In another posting on X on Aug. 10, the day that he was killed, al-Sharif wrote of the challenges covering the aftermath of one attack. He said he lost his strength and ability to express himself when he arrived at the scene. "Body parts and blood were all around us, and corpses were scattered on top of each other," he wrote. "Tell me what words and phrases could help any journalist describe this horrific image. When I told you on air that it was an 'indescribable scene,' I was truly helpless in the face of this horrific sight." Al Jazeera calls for other news organizations to come forward Salah Negm, news director at Al Jazeera English, said Monday it is very difficult to get people in to Gaza. But it is full of educated people and those with training in journalism who can help get stories out. He called on other news organizations to step up. "We get the news from several sources on the ground in Gaza — not only journalists but also doctors, hospitals, civil servants, aid workers," Negm said. "A lot of people in Gaza talk to us." Many of the journalists working in Gaza are facing the same struggles to find food, for themselves and their families, as the people they are covering. Noosphere's Ferguson said she's never before had to ask a reporter whether she had enough food for herself and her child. In an interview in May on "Democracy Now!," 22-year-old journalist Abubaker Abed described the difficult decision he made to leave Gaza to pursue his education in Ireland. Not only was he suffering from malnutrition, he said, but his mother was concerned that his work as a journalist would make him and his family targets. "If I stayed, I would die," he said. Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said she's concerned about the implications for journalists in future conflicts if what is happening in Gaza is allowed to continue without international condemnation that has real teeth. "They're essentially admitting in public to what amounts to a war crime," Ginsberg said, "and they can do that because none of the other attacks on journalists have had any consequences. not in this war and not prior. It's not surprising that it can act with this level of impunity because no international government has really taken it to task." Given all that they face, "to me, the most remarkable thing is that journalists are continuing to cover (Gaza) at all," she said.
DW
6 days ago
- Politics
- DW
How Israel restricts reporting on its war in Gaza – DW – 08/13/2025
International news outlets depend on Gaza journalists to learn what is happening inside the enclave. Now, the Israeli army has killed prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif. "This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice." So begins the final post of Anas al-Sharif, a Palestinian journalist who worked for Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera and lived in and covered the Gaza Strip. His last message addressed his Muslim faith, Palestine and his family. The post, from April, was to be published in the event of his death. The text went online on August 11. Al-Sharif, 28, was killed by Israeli shelling along with correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, all of whom worked for Al Jazeera. The journalists were staying in a tent assigned to them near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In a statement put out after the attack, Al Jazeera said its journalists were victims of a "targeted assassination," constituting an "outrageous and deliberate attack on press freedom." In a rare move, Israel publicly admitted to killing al-Sharif. On X, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) described al-Sharif as a "terrorist posing as a journalist for Al Jazeera," adding that he "was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops." The IDF provided screenshots of what it claimed were internal Hamas documents with entries purportedly proving al-Sharif's affiliation. Israel had repeatedly accused Al-Sharif of links to Hama in recent months. On the evening after al-Sharif's death, the BBC reported that prior to the Gaza war, al-Sharif had been working for a Hamas media team but had more recently expressed criticism of Hamas, the militant group that led the October 7, 2023, incursion into southern Israel. The United Nations Human Rights Office condemned the killing of the journalist, calling it a "grave breach of international humanitarian law." The German government similarly said international law must be respected and that an inquiry was needed. In July, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan said, "I am deeply alarmed by repeated threats and accusations of the Israeli army against Anas al-Sharif, the last surviving journalist of Al Jazeera in northern Gaza." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video That same month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international press freedom NGO, warned that al-Sharif was being subjected to a "smear campaign by the Israeli military." At the time, Al-Sharif was quoted as saying: "I live with the feeling that I could be bombed and become a martyr at any moment." CPJ published a statement by its regional director, Sara Qudah, after al-Sharif's killing, saying that "Israel's pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom. Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted." Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the CPJ has recorded the deaths of 186 journalists in the coastal enclave. Martin Roux of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told DW there had been "a smear campaign" to justify the killing of al-Sharif. He said al-Sharif was not only a prominent Al Jazeera journalist, but also the voice of Palestinians suffering in the Gaza Strip. "So targeting him with this smear campaign to justify his killing is just another aspect of the media blockade that was put in place by Israel." Israel has largely denied foreign journalists access to the Gaza Strip since fighting began. Its military has laid waste to large swathes of the coastal strip and is poised to take control of Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government argues that its aim remains the destruction of Hamas, whose attacks on October 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. Recent propaganda videos showing two emaciated Israeli hostages being held in Gaza caused outrage in Israel. At the same time, Israel has faced growing criticism over its conduct of the Gaza war. The United Nations warns that Gaza's entire population is at immediate risk of starvation. Numerous human rights organizations, including, most recently, Israeli NGOs, accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, an accusation the International Court of Justice is investigating. In June, more than 200 media outlets signed an open letter demanding that Israel grant journalists unrestricted access to the Gaza Strip. Footage from inside Gaza and information about the territory are disseminated by international media outlets, who largely rely on local journalists working on the ground as reporters or stringers. Some of them have been working with editorial teams and correspondent bureaus outside Gaza for years, though Israeli authorities repeatedly accuse Palestinian journalists inside the Gaza Strip of lacking objectivity. Israel denies most international journalists access to the Gaza Strip. Only a select few are permitted into the area for a short period when they are "embedded" within Israeli military structures. Such journalists are under the supervision of soldiers and must have their raw material approved by military censors. Reporters who take advantage of this opportunity to enter Gaza are fully aware they will only be seeing the perspective of the Israeli army. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video News organizations, therefore, rely on Palestinian journalists, aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders and local Gaza contacts to report on what is happening on the ground. At times, this has led to the Israeli government targeting international media outlets. Recently, Netanyahu said he was considering legal action against the . In July, the newspaper printed a picture of a severely malnourished child in the Gaza Strip on its front page. Its editorial team said it only became aware that the emaciated child was also suffering from a pre-existing medical condition after the picture's publication. Netanyahu is keen to make this point, as he denies deliberately starving Gaza's population, even though several aid organizations blame Israel for the fact that significantly less aid than needed continues to reach Gaza. Netanyahu also said he had instructed the army to allow more foreign reporters into the Gaza Strip so that they could see "Israel's humanitarian efforts" as well as "civilian protests against Hamas." Netanyahu did not specify whether he meant granting journalists free access or "embedding" them with the army. Al-Sharif and his colleagues were among only a handful of journalists left working in the Gaza Strip.
The National
12-08-2025
- Politics
- The National
Questions on UK spy plane 'over Gaza as Israel killed journalists'
On Sunday, August 10, the Israeli military killed prominent Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, as well as four of his colleagues and a freelancer, in a deliberate strike in Gaza City. Israel later claimed that al-Sharif had been a leading member of Hamas – but the allegation was widely contested, with Al Jazeera calling it a 'desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza'. READ MORE: Labour label Palestine Action terrorists – but ignore Nazi salutes from the far-right The Guardian reported that the strike which killed al-Sharif and his colleagues happened at 11.22pm, quoting Palestinian reporter Wadi Abu al-Saud. Flight radar data showed that a spy plane registered under the code N6147U was active at the RAF Akrotiri base, in Cyprus, two hours earlier. There is no flight path available, suggesting the plane's transponder was then turned off. This has been standard practice during spy missions over Palestine. Aid drops have been allowed into Gaza since Israel loosened its blockade of the regionLast week, the Daily Mail reported that plane N6147U belonged to an American private contractor, and had been hired to 'spy on Gaza due to shortage of RAF aircraft'. The UK Government had until then been sending its own aircraft to spy over Gaza since the October 7 attacks on Israel. In April, The Times reported that the UK Government had admitted to holding information gathered from a spy plane over Gaza on the day that an Israeli air strike killed British aid workers. However, the Ministry of Defence refused to release it. After the killing of al-Sharif, the UK's National Union of Journalists asked the Labour Government to back an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into Israel's targeting of media workers. In light of the above information, the UK Government was asked: Does the UK Government possess any information gathered by a spy plane over Gaza on August 10/11? Will it release the information publicly? Will it release the information to any investigation (by the ICC or otherwise) into the killing of journalists? SNP MSP Bill Kidd said: 'The SNP is clear that the killing of journalists in Gaza by Israel is indefensible and that Israel should be held to account. 'The UK Government must be fully transparent in answering these questions." A spokesperson for Scotland for Palestine campaign group said: 'Conducting spy flights over Gaza for Israel as it stands accused by the world's highest court of a plausible genocide is already grave. "If further evidence shows that the UK Government was involved in tracking down the last few remaining Palestinian journalists in a targeted assassination by Israel – a crime under international law – then this would be yet another serious mark against the UK Government. 'Similar to past atrocities, anyone who has helped Israel to commit crimes against humanity will one day face the consequences of their actions. READ MORE: Killing of Al Jazeera staff in Gaza 'silencing journalistic voices' 'We thank The National for following up on this and for holding the UK Government to account. 'The UK Government must now comply and release the information that has been requested on its spy flights over Gaza.' The Ministry of Defence declined to comment. Previously, the UK Government has said that its unarmed surveillance flights are conducted for the sole purpose of locating Israeli hostages held in Gaza. It has declined to release any information gathered, citing operational security.
