The Editors Guild of India has strongly condemned the “brazen” airstrikes on a building in Gaza that housed the editorial offices of Al Jazeera and the Associated Press.
“The bombing raid on 15 May 2021, demolished the 12-story building, destroying much of the camera and editing equipment, and severely affected the news reporting and broadcasting capabilities of the two organisations. Besides the loss of hardware and office space, the bombing destroyed what was described as ‘home’ by some of the journalists,” the EGI said in a statement.
Given the recent background of escalating conflict in this region, the statement said that the EGI sees this as a “de facto attack on news media by the Israeli government, which can disrupt the flow of news from this highly volatile region and which has global security implications”.
“The Guild demands that the Israeli government (should) give a detailed justification of the decision making behind this attack along with evidentiary proof,” it said, while calling upon the Israeli government to facilitate a UN monitored investigation into this bombing raid. The Guild has also urged the Indian government to take up this issue with the Israeli government while demanding an independent inquiry and reiterating the need for ensuring safety of journalists in any conflict situation.