UN calls for transparent investigation into attack targeting TRT Arabi crew
UN says Israeli attack on group of journalists, including TRT Arabi crew, "yet another stark and clear example of the dangers journalists face in Gaza".
"My message to the international community, who are seeing us firsthand, is that we're journalists wearing armor. So, why do you see us wearing helmets? Why? Because they still target us,” TRT Arabi cameraperson Sami Shehadeh said following attack. / Photo: AA
The United Nations has called for a transparent and credible investigation into a fresh Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Palestine's Gaza, which injured several journalists including those from the TRT Arabi channel.
The organisation stressed that the Israeli attack on a group of journalists clearly demonstrates the dangers faced by members of the press in Gaza.
On Friday afternoon, the Israeli army deliberately targeted the group of journalists reporting from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza with tank fire.
TRT cameraperson Sami Shehadeh, part of a crew reporting from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, was grievously injured and doctors ended up amputating his right foot.
Shehadeh, following the attack, said he would still continue to be the voice of Gaza.
"My message to the international community, who are seeing us firsthand, is that we're journalists wearing armor. So, why do you see us wearing helmets? Why? Because they still target us,”
— TRT World (@trtworld) April 12, 2024
TRT Arabi cameraman Sami Shehadeh speaks for the first time following Israel's brutal tank… pic.twitter.com/bIaD92qdAw
'Terrorist state'
"We condemn this vile attack. This is terrorism. This terrorism must stop and the Western world must oppose this brutality as soon as possible," Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said following the incident.
"No matter what, we will continue to tell the world about Israel's atrocities against civilians," he vowed, stressing that Israel is a "terrorist state" that targets members of the press intentionally to cover up its atrocities and disrupt the flow of information.
This is not the first time that the Israeli army has targeted journalists in Gaza during its war that has been ongoing for more than half a year.
According to the Gaza Media Office, at least 140 journalists have lost their lives in Israeli attacks in the besieged enclave, now in its 189th day.
One of them was Montaser Al Sawaf, an Anadolu freelance cameraperson, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes on December 1 following a weeklong humanitarian pause between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
The relentless Israeli attacks have killed at least 33,545 Palestinians and wounded 76,094 others in total.
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