About 600 US-based journalists signed on Friday an open letter criticizing Western media coverage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and condemning the killing of journalists by the strikes that hit the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that 39 journalists and media workers had died in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began on October 7.
"As reporters, editors, photographers, producers, and other workers in newsrooms around the world, we are appalled at the slaughter of our colleagues and their families by the Israeli military and government. We are writing to urge an end to violence against journalists in Gaza and to call on Western newsroom leaders to be clear-eyed in coverage of Israel's repeated atrocities against Palestinians," the open letter read.
The signers believe that the Western media are responsible for spreading dehumanizing rhetoric, which is used to justify "ethnic cleansing of Palestinians."
They call on their colleagues throughout the world to use "precise terms that are well-defined by international human rights organizations, including 'apartheid,' 'ethnic cleansing' and 'genocide'" to refer to the violence committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a large-scale ground incursion inside the Gaza Strip with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages.
The escalation of the conflict has resulted in the deaths of around 1,400 people in Israel and almost 11,000 in the Gaza Strip.