UN’s Albanese rejects 'Israel’s' claim that 170 slain Gaza journalists were ‘terrorists’

• Francesca Albanese says there is “not a shred of evidence” supporting ‘Israel’s’ claim that 170 journalists killed in Gaza were members of armed groups.
• The UN special rapporteur says she will publish a report examining the allegations and what she describes as an effort to justify the killing of journalists.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, has rejected claims by ‘Israel’ that 170 journalists killed by its forces in the Gaza Strip were members of armed groups.

Albanese said there was “not a shred of evidence” supporting the claim that the journalists participated in military activities.

Her comments on X came after the ‘Israeli’ army said an investigation had concluded that individuals who “claimed to be journalists” were “actually terrorists belonging to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organisations in Gaza.”

Albanese said there was “zero” evidence to substantiate the allegation that the journalists had taken part in military activities.

“As Western media starts its due diligence, Apartheid ‘Israel’ escalates disinformation,” Albanese wrote. “The army has even a ‘legitimization cell’ fabricating stories to justify genocide. My next report exposes it all.”

She said she would soon publish a report addressing the allegations and the broader issue of claims made to justify the killing of journalists in Gaza.

The ‘Israeli’ military’s allegations come amid widespread international concern over the killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. Journalists and media workers have continued reporting from the enclave despite repeated attacks, displacement and severe restrictions on foreign media access.

International press freedom and human rights organizations have repeatedly called for independent investigations into the deaths of journalists and accountability for those responsible.