A solidarity vigil will be held in Johannesburg on Thursday evening to honour the growing number of journalists killed in Gaza, amid assertions from media professionals and rights groups that these killings are part of a deliberate Israeli strategy to silence reporting from the besieged territory.
Organised by Journalists Against Apartheid (JAA), the vigil will take place from 5 pm to 6 pm outside the Al Jazeera offices. The event specifically commemorates four of the network’s journalists killed in a single Israeli airstrike on 10 August and the 272 media workers killed since October 2023.
The Israeli military admitted to the 10 August strike, which it described as a targeted operation against individuals it baselessly labelled as “Hamas operatives,” an accusation Al Jazeera and press freedom organisations have vehemently denied.
Al Jazeera journalist Nour Odeh described the recent attack, which killed an entire Al Jazeera crew in Gaza City, as a clear message from Israel. “Israel wants people to feel fear, to flee Gaza, to not be present so that they do not tell the world what will be happening when the tanks roll in again,” she said. “It is intended to silence everybody else, to obscure what will come next.”
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A war on truth
The killing of journalists is seen by many as a tactic to control the narrative coming out of Gaza, a region largely barred to international media. According to Odeh, this is part of a broader “war on the truth” where Israel has consistently cast doubt on casualty figures and the severity of the humanitarian crisis, including widespread starvation.
“The ultimate end goal here of the Israeli regime… is to make sure that no news gets out of Gaza, that the world doesn’t know the truth about some of the atrocities which the people of Gaza are being subjected to,” she stated, emphasising that Israel aims to have the story told only through its “propaganda machine.”
The war has been called the deadliest for journalists in modern times. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other international bodies have condemned the attacks. Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the CPJ, expressed concern over the lack of consequences for Israel’s actions.
“They’re essentially admitting in public to what amounts to a war crime,” Ginsberg said, “and they can do that because none of the other attacks on journalists have had any consequences… It’s not surprising that it can act with this level of impunity because no international government has really taken it to task.”
Despite the immense danger, Palestinian journalists continue their work, driven by a profound sense of responsibility. Odeh explained that while fear is constant, her colleagues on the ground are determined.
“Journalists understand, especially in Gaza, that they have an awesome responsibility to tell the truth, to expose what is happening. They are the eyes of the world and they are the voice of the people in Gaza,” she said. “They cannot abandon the story.”
The vigil in Johannesburg aims to show solidarity with these efforts, with organisers providing candles and encouraging attendees to bring placards related to press freedom. Following the vigil, a memorial march will proceed to a screening of the documentary “Gaza: Journalists Under Fire” at The Bioscope Independent Cinema.
Image via Industrial Union.
