‘Silence the story’: Israeli bombing of media offices condemned

Gaza City building that housed Al Jazeera and other media offices was destroyed in an Israeli strike on Saturday.

Press freedom advocates have sharply condemned Israel’s bombing of a Gaza building that housed the offices of Al Jazeera and the Associated Press news agency, calling it a brazen attempt to “silence” journalists covering the Israeli military’s ongoing offensive that has killed scores of people. The 11-storey al-Jalaa building, which also houses a number of residences and other offices, was destroyed in an Israeli strike on Saturday afternoon. Dust and debris kicked up into the air as the building tipped and came crashing to the ground. “The attack on the building that we have seen is a shocking and, it seems to me, catastrophic attempt to shut down media, to silence criticism, and worst of all, to create a cloak of secrecy around this conflict,” said Aidan White, founder of the Ethical Journalism Network, a network of global journalists and press rights groups.