The Leeds and West Yorkshire branch of the National Union of Journalists is organising a vigil for journalists and media workers killed since the war in Gaza began.
The vigil will take place at the Workers Memorial outside Leeds City Art Gallery on the Headrow, starting at 5.30pm on Monday September 1.
Members of the branch will mourn colleagues who have lost their lives in Gaza while working to provide coverage for news organisations whose journalists are prevented by Israel from entering the territory.
August has seen significant casualties and loss of life among journalists in Gaza, with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reporting at least 233 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7, 2023.
According to the IFJ, an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Monday August 25, killed four journalists including Hossam Al-Masri, a photographer working for Reuters news agency; Mohammed Salama, a photojournalist working for Al Jazeera; Maryam Abu Deqqa, a journalist working for outlets including the Associated Press and Independent Arabia, and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist working for NBC news.
On the same day, freelance journalist Ahmad Abu Aziz, who worked for media outlets such as Middle East Eye and was based in Khan Yunis, succumbed to the injuries he sustained from Israel’s attack on Nasser Hospital. He was the fifth journalist killed as a result of this strike.
Hours later, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) confirmed the killing of journalist Hassan Douhan, the director of the investigative reporting unit of Al-Hayat Al-Jadida newspaper. According to the PJS, Douhan was also shot by Israeli forces in his tent in Mawasi, Khan Yunis, on August 25.
On August 23, the PJS reported the killing of Palestine TV cameraman Mohammed Mustafa Al-Madhoun, who was killed while covering events in the Zikim area, northern Gaza Strip.
‘Discrediting, targeting and killing’
NUJ members will pay tribute to their colleagues, lay a wreath at the Workers Memorial and read the names of all the journalists killed since 7 October 2023.
NUJ general secretary Laura Davison said: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the murdered journalists and their colleagues.
“Journalists have specific rights under international law and once again these rights have been violated while other civilians have been killed as collateral damage.
“Israel has denied foreign reporters access to Gaza while systematically discrediting, targeting and killing local journalists.”
The NUJ has called on the UK government, which claims to be committed to press freedom, to exert serious pressure to protect journalists, uphold international law and support an investigation by the International Criminal Court into the blatant targeting of journalists and media workers by Israeli forces.
“There must,” said Ms Davison, “be immediate international action to end this obscene behaviour.”
NUJ members across the UK and Republic of Ireland have been holding similar vigils, including one outside Downing Street in London on Wednesday August 27.
- Read more about the vigils and protests being organised by NUJ branches across the union.
- Make a donation to the International Federation of Journalists’ Safety Fund