Reporters Without Borders Asks International Criminal Court to Allow Gazan Journalists to Participate in Its Ongoing Proceedings

After filing four complaints with the ICC concerning war crimes committed against journalists in Gaza since October 2023, RSF is resolutely continuing its efforts to bring the issue before international justice.

The NGO has submitted several victim participation forms to the ICC so that Gazan journalists can participate in the legal process as recognised victims, not just witnesses.

If granted this status, these journalists would be able to present before the ICC the direct and personal harm they suffered at the hands of Israeli forces in Gaza.

Being officially recognised as victims is a first step toward justice, truth, and reparations — and it is an essential step toward protecting press freedom and journalistic integrity in conflict zones.

Since October 2023, Israeli armed forces have killed nearly 200 journalists in Gaza, at least 44 of whom were targeted because of their work, according to RSF data.

Not only are foreign journalists barred from entering the blockaded Palestinian territory, but local reporters have watched their homes and newsrooms be destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and have been constantly displaced amidst a devastating humanitarian crisis.

“The right of victims to participate in the ICC investigation is a crucial mechanism that will finally allow for the recognition of the immense harm suffered by Palestinian journalists working in Gaza, who are the target of an unprecedented and systematic crackdown.”

Clémence Witt, Jeanne Sulzer

Lawyer at the Paris and Barcelona Bars, Lawyer at the Paris Bar and member of the ICC’s list of counsel

“It is time for justice for Gaza’s journalists to be served. The Israeli army’s ongoing crimes against them must end. RSF will tirelessly continue demanding justice and reparations.

This new process in the ICC investigation is an integral part of this combat, and allowing journalists to participate as victims is essential to moving forward.

They should be able to testify to the extreme violence targeting Gaza’s press. This is a new step toward holding the Israeli military and its leaders accountable for the crimes committed with impunity on Palestinian territory.”

Jonathan Dagher

Head of the RSF Middle East Desk

The first victim participation application submitted by RSF concerns Adel Al Zaanoon, chief Gaza correspondent with Agence France-Presse (AFP), whose home was completely destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on 11 April 2024.

He and his wife, Ola Al Zaanoon, RSF correspondent in Gaza, miraculously survived but lost all their belongings.

RSF has also submitted a second application for Diaa al-Kahlout, Gaza bureau chief of the news site The New Arab, who was arbitrarily detained for over a month at Israel’s Sde Teiman military camp after being abducted from his home in the city of Beit Lahia.

According to the journalist’s testimony, he was subjected to torture and humiliation. A fourth journalist, who wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons, was directly targeted and injured by Israeli shots in an attack that killed a fellow reporter.

Both journalists were clearly identifiable as members of the press. The reporter was injured a second time, several months later, in a strike that targeted the location where she was working in the field.

A radical legal action at the ICC

The first participation forms have been submitted to Philipp Ambach, Chief of the Victims Participation and Reparations Section in the Registry of the International Criminal Court, in accordance with Article 68 of the Rome Statute.

RSF has filed four complaints since October 2023, meticulously documenting war crimes and targeted attacks against journalists in Gaza.

On 7 January 2024, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC informed RSF that crimes committed against journalists are included in the Prosecutor’s investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine.