Head of a leading Turkish media workers’ union has condemned a Israeli attack against a building containing Anadolu Agency's Gaza office on Tuesday.
"It is with great sorrow that we received the sad news of the bombing attack by Israeli forces on a building containing Anadolu Agency’s Gaza office on Tuesday" Gursel Eser, chairman of the Medya-Is trade union, said in a letter.
He voiced concern over reports that journalists have increasingly become targets of Israeli attacks in Gaza.
The tenth floor of the building, which contained Anadolu Agency’s Gaza bureau, in the west part of the Strip, was hit and badly damaged by Israeli bombing on Tuesday. There were no reports of casualties.
"Although there were no casualties, we consider this attack to be an attempt by the Israeli army to curtail freedom of the press in Gaza," he said. "What is more saddening is the fact that this attack occurred even though the Israeli government had been officially informed of the coordinates of the AA Gaza office."
Eser said they believe that the attack was not only aimed at Anadolu Agency but targeted free press in the region as a whole.
He said, "We strongly condemn this unjust and unacceptable attack and remind the Israeli authorities of their responsibility for the safety of all journalists working in the region."
Israel, which has ignored UN resolutions against its actions in the Occupied Territories many times before, began military operations in the Gaza Strip on July 7.
At least 1,258 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and more than 6,550 injured in the relentless Israeli attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
According to official Israeli figures, 53 troops and three civilians have been killed since the hostilities began.
www.aa.com.tr/en
