Civilian death tolls in Gaza are rising daily amid mounting allegations of war crimes and collective punishment. The pope demanded that Israel stop collective punishment, and the UN secretary-general warned that the levels of death and destruction are without parallel in recent times. More than 500 UN staff urged the human rights chief to label the situation genocide, and many US voters already view Israel's actions as genocide. The Israeli military declared famine-hit Gaza City a combat zone, intensified assaults, and ended tactical pauses that enabled limited food delivery. Many residents cannot flee and fear nowhere would be safer. Attacks have struck areas labeled humanitarian zones, and large numbers of journalists have been killed, prompting calls for protection and open borders for reporting.
Day by day, the death toll rises, the war crimes mount, and the outrage grows. Last Wednesday, the pope demanded that Israel stop its collective punishment of Gaza's population. A day later, Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, warned that the levels of death and destruction are without parallel in recent times. More than 500 UN staff have pressed the human rights chief, Volker Turk, to call it genocide.
On Friday, the Israeli military declared famine-hit Gaza City to be a combat zone, intensifying its assault and ending tactical pauses that allowed limited if utterly inadequate food delivery. Many inhabitants are physically incapable of fleeing again, and fear that they would be no safer elsewhere. Israel has attacked parts of areas that it has labelled as humanitarian zones. Israel could end the international condemnation by stopping its campaign of annihilation. Instead, it tries to stop us learning about it, by silencing those who bear witness.
This has become the most lethal war for the media in recent history. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 189 Palestinian journalists are dead in Gaza; others put the toll still higher. Five were killed in a single strike last week. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Avaaz, a non-profit organisation promoting global activism, are calling on Israel to abide by its international obligations to protect journalists as civilians, and open Gaza's borders so that international journalists can report freely.
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