US says no indication Israel targeting journalists after yet another killed in Gaza

WASHINGTON

The US said Friday it has no indication that Israel is deliberately targeting journalists in the besieged Gaza Strip after yet another was killed, raising the total of slain media workers there to at least 57.

Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa, a father of four, was killed in southern Gaza's Khan Younis after Israeli drones fired missiles at a school where civilians had sought shelter, the news network said.

Abudaqa was injured in the attacks, and bled to death as Israeli forces prevented ambulances and health workers from providing emergency assistance to him, it added.

"We still don't have any indications that they are deliberately targeting journalists," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. "In an ongoing dynamic conflict such as this, we are not going to make ourselves judge and jury over every single airstrike and every single kinetic event that happens on the battlefield."

Kirby maintained that US officials continue to press Israel on the need to be "precise, careful, cautious, targeted" in their ongoing war in Gaza. He said the US's "deepest sympathies and condolences go out to" Abudaqa's family and colleagues.

"Journalists need to be able to have the freedom to cover conflicts around the world," he said. "It's never acceptable to deliberately target them as they do such vital dangerous work. And that's just a principle that we're going to continue to abide by, and to continue to make clear."

Dozens of Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since hostilities between Hamas and Israel broke out over two months ago following Hamas' cross-border attack, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Its tally places the number killed at 57 amid what it calls "particularly high risks" to carry out their job.

“CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.

“Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats," added Mansour.

Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh, whose family was previously killed by an Israeli airstrike, was traveling with Abudaqa when they came under attack. Dahdouh said they were traveling with rescuers who were attempting to reach a home that had been bombed in the hopes of saving any survivors.

At least 18,787 Palestinians have since been killed, roughly two-thirds of whom have been women and children, and 50,897 injured during the over two-month war, according to official figures from Gaza’s health authorities.

Asked when the US expects Israel to begin transitioning to a lower intensity war in Gaza, Kirby said "we're not dictating terms to the Israelis," but said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did discuss with Israeli officials this week Israeli plans to transition their military operations.

"We agree with the Israelis that conflict could go on for months. But what Jake talked to them about is the importance of thinking about transitioning to a different phase here, where the operations are more targeted, more precise, more surgical, really in scope and scale," he added.