India Condemns Death of Journalists in Gaza, Calls Israeli Strikes ‘Deeply Regrettable’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the deaths of five journalists in Gaza a “tragic mishap” in a statement released Tuesday.
India reacts Gaza strikes on Wednesday strongly condemning about Gaza journalists killed in Khan Younis by Israeli airstrikes. Asked about the incident, Randhir Jaiswal, a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, called the deaths of the journalists “shocking and deeply regrettable”. MEA statement Gaza that India had consistently and strongly condemned the killing of civilians in the war, and that Israeli authorities were investigating the incident.
Two days prior, 20 people were killed and five journalists working for outlets like Al Jazeera, Reuters, and the Associated Press were also killed when Israel targeted Gaza’s Nasser Hospital. Israeli officials later said India Israel Gaza conflict was intended to destroy a camera that Hamas had allegedly set up to track Israeli troop movements and its military said that forces acted to “remove the threat” as the camera was near the hospital.
Addressing the strike, Netanyahu said the Israel airstrikes journalists were a “tragic mishap.” Journalists have been lost in Gaza before this month, with four Al Jazeera employees and two freelancers dying after an Israeli strike earlier in March. Since the war began, international press watchdogs have tallied almost 200 media worker deaths.
The Israeli military also said on Tuesday that, “We can confirm that the Reuters and AP journalists were not a target of the strike,” as reported by military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani.
The military has said that the two consecutive strikes on the main hospital in the southern Gaza came after they believed militants were operating surveillance equipment to monitor Israeli forces.” Israel has long held that Hamas operates out of hospitals, but such evidence has been rarely seen by the public.
In a written statement, the Israeli military said that the five journalists were not among the six alleged militant targets that were identified. They further stated that the Chief of the General Staff regrets any unintended harm to civilians. “Military operations are directed solely at combatants.”
