ANKARA

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate demanded on Friday ending Israel's systematic targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, urging immediate international action to protect media freedom.

The group accused Israel of carrying out "the most horrific media genocide in history" against Palestinian journalists in a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day, observed annually on May 3.

The syndicate reported that 210 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the last 17 months of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, with hundreds wounded or losing family members, along with the destruction of media facilities and thousands of violations against media workers in the West Bank.

"Currently, 55 journalists remain detained in Israeli prisons out of 177 arrested since Oct. 7, 2023,” according to the statement.

The journalist body demanded the immediate release of all imprisoned journalists and international action to hold Israeli leaders accountable for crimes against media personnel.

"The world celebrates press freedom while Palestine endures unprecedented attacks on journalism," it read.

World Press Freedom Day was established by a UN General Assembly resolution in December 1993 to defend media independence worldwide.

This year's commemoration comes amid what media freedom organizations describe as the deadliest period for journalists in modern history, with Palestinian reporters bearing the brunt of the casualties.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.