The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and Altermidya-People’s Alternative Media Network expressed firm solidarity with their fellow journalists in Gaza, who now suffer unparalleled attacks and hardship. Filipino journalists reaffirmed their stand after Israeli forces bombed and killed the five remaining Al Jazeera correspondents in Gaza.
The US-Israel bombing on August 10 killed Anas al-Sharif, along with another Al Jazeera correspondent, Mohammed Qreiqeh, and their camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. Israel unflinchingly claimed responsibility for the bombing and justified it by accusing Anas of being a “leader of a Hamas team.”
“That journalism is a dangerous profession especially in a conflict zone is no reason to wave away the journalism community’s anger and disgust at the murder of our colleagues,” NUJP said. The group said the Israeli military tactics is similar to the AFP’s tactics to intimidate, discredit, and oppress Filipino journalists.
NUJP, Altermidya, and other international groups denounced the killing of the five journalists. Under international humanitarian law, journalists are protected individuals amid armed conflict. The Committee to Protect Journalists says all journalists, regardless of their affiliation, must always be considered protected and civilians, except when they are directly involved in armed combat. Therefore, the murder of protected individuals like Anas constitutes a war crime.
“Evidently, Anas’ real crime in the eyes of the occupier was his dedication to documenting the truth from the ground, bearing witness to the horrible situation ordinary Palestinians face under siege,” the group said. Anas’s last reports included widespread starvation in Gaza and the blockade of necessary aid to the people.
Since 2023, US-Israel forces have deliberately killed over 200 journalists in Gaza by bombing their homes, offices, vehicles, and more, even with their clear identities as media. This killing has been accompanied by a relentless smear campaign that labels Palestinian journalists as terrorists simply because of their role as the eyes and ears of the world in Gaza, according to Altermidya.
“As Filipino journalists, we recognize disturbing parallels between this repression and our own situation,” the group said. “While the scale of violence in Gaza is far greater, the underlying tactic is the same: silence truth-tellers, criminalize journalism, and control the narrative to shield perpetrators and those in power from accountability,” they added.
