The SafeJournalists Network, representing more than 8,200 members across the Western Balkans, strongly condemns the killing of five journalists in an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, on 25 August 2025.
According to international media reports, the journalists Mariam Abu Dagga (freelancer working with Associated Press and others), Mohammed Salama (Al Jazeera), Hussam al-Masri (Reuters contractor), Moaz Abu Taha (NBC), and Ahmed Abu Aziz (Quds Feed / Middle East Eye) were killed while performing their professional duties. The strike hit the hospital twice, with the second attack targeting the area where journalists and rescuers had gathered in response to the first explosion.
Journalists are protected civilians under international humanitarian law. Their killing constitutes not only a grave violation of fundamental rights but also a direct attack on press freedom and the public’s right to information. Monday’s attack comes in the wake of a series of deadly incidents targeting media workers in Gaza. Only two weeks earlier, six journalists, including four from Al Jazeera, were killed in an Israeli strike near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Since October 2023, more than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, making this one of the deadliest conflicts for the profession in modern history. These repeated attacks illustrate the increasingly perilous conditions in which journalists are operating and underline the urgent need for concrete measures to guarantee their safety.
The SafeJournalists Network once again strongly emphasizes: journalism is not a crime — but killing journalists is. Such acts constitute a grave war crime and a crime against humanity under all relevant international conventions and standards. No one, including the Israeli army, has the right to target and kill journalists and media workers while they are carrying out their professional duties in the Gaza Strip. By killing journalists, Israeli forces are not only silencing individuals but also extinguishing the truth, depriving the world of the scarce information that, thanks to Palestinian journalists, still manages to break through censorship and restrictions on reporting about the war in Gaza.
The SafeJournalists Network calls for an independent and impartial international investigation into this attack and for those responsible to be held fully accountable. We further urge all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international law and to guarantee the protection of journalists, media workers, and all civilians.
The Network expresses its deepest condolences to the families and colleagues of the journalists who lost their lives and stands in solidarity with the entire journalistic community in Gaza.
The SafeJournalists Network underlines that media outlets have a duty of care towards their employees. Journalists reporting from such extremely dangerous environments must be provided with full professional safety equipment and support. We remind all media organisations that ensuring protection comes before assignment, and that no story can justify risking the life of a journalist.
Every attack on a journalist is an attack on democracy and on the right of societies everywhere to be informed.
Pristina – Skopje – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Belgrade – Podgorica, August 26, 2025
Croatian Journalists’ Association
Association of Journalists of Kosovo
Association of Journalists of Macedonia
BH Journalists Association
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
