WANA (Dec 26) – The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the deliberate targeting of a journalists’ vehicle near Al-Awda Hospital in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, which claimed the lives of five journalists.

 

Esmail Baghaei described the attack as a clear example of a war crime committed by the Israeli regime, urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor to add this incident to the already extensive file of crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

 

In a statement, Baghaei emphasized that journalists and media personnel operating in conflict zones, along with their equipment, are classified as civilians and civilian objects under international humanitarian law.

 

He cited the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols, highlighting the protections afforded to them. He reiterated that the assault on the journalists’ vehicle by Israeli forces constitutes an undeniable war crime.

 

Baghaei also pointed to the deaths of over 200 media professionals during the 15-month-long genocide in Gaza. He accused the Israeli regime of targeting journalists to suppress global awareness of the severity and scope of atrocities committed against the Palestinian people.

 

Warning of the grave consequences of ongoing violations, the spokesperson called out international bodies for their inadequate response to these crimes. He noted that the escalation of blatant breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza risks undermining the very foundations of the norms governing the laws of war.