Palestinian journalists covering Gaza war win UNESCO press freedom prize
Al Jazeera
UN agency’s chief calls award a tribute to courage of journalists facing ‘difficult and dangerous’ conditions in Gaza.
All Palestinian journalists covering Israel’s war on Gaza have been awarded UNESCO’s world press freedom prize, the United Nations cultural agency has said.
“In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances,” Mauricio Weibel, chair of the international jury of media professionals, said during the announcement on Thursday.
“As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression,” Weibel added during a ceremony in Chile’s capital, Santiago, on the eve of World Press Freedom Day on Friday.
More than 100 journalists and media workers, the vast majority Palestinian, have been killed in the first seven months of the current conflict in Gaza that started in October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Gaza’s Government Media Office put that toll at more than 140.
