Israeli forces killed 24 Palestinian female journalists during war on Gaza: Government spokesperson

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Israeli forces have killed 24 female Palestinian journalists during its genocidal war on Gaza, the head of the Government Media Office in Gaza said on Saturday.

In a statement issued on International Women’s Day, Salama Maarouf said that the killings violated international humanitarian law, adding that they occurred before the “free world, which claims to advocate for women’s rights and the defense of journalists.”

“Their status as women could not protect them from the Israeli army nor could their journalistic immunity shield them from the murderous entity,” he added.

Maarouf also accused the international community of “failing to take substantial action,” saying that “many responses have been limited to statements of condemnation,” which he deemed “hypocritical and inadequate.”

The Gaza Strip has been devastated by the Israeli war, with women and children bearing the brunt of the violence. Together, they have represented 70% of the total death toll, which reached 46,960 by Jan. 19, 2025, according to a report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, halting Israel’s brutal war, which has killed over 48,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its military campaign.