‘The grey zone’: how IDF views some journalists in Gaza as legitimate targets ( www.theguardian.com )

As Israel’s offensive in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history, its military has repeatedly said it is not deliberately targeting the media..

However, an investigation by the Guardian suggests that amid a loosening of the Israel Defense Force’s interpretation of the laws of war after the deadly Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, some within the IDF appear to have viewed journalists working in Gaza for outlets controlled by or affiliated with Hamas to be legitimate military targets.

A person with knowledge of legal advice given to IDF commanders said journalists working for Hamas-affiliated media were seen to exist within a “grey zone” and there was a “problematic” view among some in the IDF that “whenever there’s someone getting a salary ultimately from Hamas” they were considered to be a legitimate target.

“Hamas invests a lot of resources in its propaganda teams. They often won’t do an activity if they don’t have a photographer. They must document everything,” a military intelligence officer said. “So some will tell you: ‘Look, a Hamasnik is Hamasnik.’”

corsicanguppy ,

Immediately thought the skeptics would say something like "any journo not paid by the IDF cannot be counted on to deliver the news the IDF wants and is therefore a threat to IDF morale", or something like that, to justify shooting these negative elements.

I'm sure the real cognitive dissonance will sound something like that.

partial_accumen ,

I think people will read this and come away thinking the IDF operating in Gaza is specifically targeting only journalists. I'm not sure I'd say the same thing.

It looks like the IDF operating in Gaza is targeting everyone, including itself, the IDF.

"According to the IDF, as of May 2024, 49 of the 278 Israeli soldiers killed during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip were killed by friendly fire and in other accidents.[1]" source

So about 18% of IDF deaths in Gaza are killed by other IDF. If anyone is questioning that data its collected by the IDF and reported in an Israeli newspaper.

The IDF apparently shoots anything that moves, and that can include Hamas fighters, women, children, the elderly, aid workers from the USA, Palestinians, Britons, and yes journalists.

IndustryStandard OP ,

They have targeted media offices directly. There appears to be some level of targeting journalists. You are correct this is not always the case. https://theintercept.com/2024/06/25/israel-gaza-journalism-afp-office-bombing/

"

AFP immediately contacted the Israeli military. The initial response was that there were no strikes on the building. Pressed for more details, the Israeli spokesperson said the army had carried out a strike nearby that “might have caused debris” but that “the building was not targeted in any way.” AFP said the extent of the damage cannot be explained by the military’s response and requested “an in-depth and transparent investigation.”

The four-month investigation revealed that, contrary to Israeli army claims, the AFP office was directly fired at by Israeli tanks. The tanks fired four times between 11:55 a.m. and 12:09 p.m. local time on November 2, from around 3 kilometers away.

​​Wilkinson ruled out the possibility of an accidental hit. He’s convinced that the soldiers operating the Israeli tanks intended to hit that floor precisely. “The weapon type and accuracy inherent in the Israeli tank weapon system means that the weapon hit the target it was aimed at,” he said. “The question of why remains unanswered.”

A key element in the investigation was a series of flashes of light appearing 4 seconds before every explosion in the live footage. The flashes are shots being fired. A calculation based on an analysis of the flashes and detonations concluded that they were fired from about 3 kilometers away. Further analysis of the speed and features of ammunition led to the conclusion that it was a tank that fired them. Only Israel has tanks in Gaza.

"

Pfeffy ,

That's fair. People have to pick their own targets. If I ever encounter people that served in the IDF currently in the future I'll definitely think of them as targets.

IndustryStandard OP ,

Everyone in Israel is conscripted in the IDF.

Pfeffy ,

I'm aware.

Guydht ,

Ah yes, because what we need is more hostilities.

Has 7.10 taught you nothing?

Pfeffy ,

That ethnically cleansing a native population and throwing parties outside of their concentration camp doesn't always end great?

cygnus ,
@cygnus@lemmy.ca avatar

Targeting state media because you're at war with that country is bonkers. Imagine the outcry if Ukraine were assassinating TASS reporters on sight.

Pfeffy ,

And they aren't even just murdering State actors. They are murdering journalists left and right from wherever. Just like aid workers and people trying to feed the Palestinians that they are starving to death on purpose.

jordanlund ,
@jordanlund@lemmy.world avatar

"‘The grey zone’: how IDF views some journalists everyone in Gaza as legitimate targets"

FTFY

sunzu ,

Looks pretty black and white from Texas...

Y'all got different meaning for color grey?

Kaboom ,

If youre a hamas soldier, you are a valid target. Doesnt matter if you work for Al-Jazeera in your free time.

SOMETHINGSWRONG ,

You are Hamas.

catloaf ,

We are ALL Hamas on this blessed day.

Siegfried ,

For precaution, mossad is coming your way.

stembolts , (edited )

^ disinformation.

The way this post is written is a lie.

Journalists aren't moonlighting as terrorist, what Israel actually said in the article was that they don't care if you are a journalist or a terrorist, even telling Hamas's story makes you a valid target for state-sponsored murder.

This opinion conflicts with international law and makes Israel the one worthy of scrutiny.

Asked about the al-Aqsa network casualties, a senior IDF spokesperson told reporters in the Gaza project consortium that there was “no difference” between working for the media outlet and belonging to Hamas’s armed wing, a sweeping statement legal experts described as alarming.

“It’s a shocking statement,” Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University in the US said, describing the position as showing “a complete misunderstanding or just a wilful disregard for international law”.
‘Reporting is not direct participation in hostilities’

Almost as soon as Israel began its aerial bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas’s assault on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage, the al-Aqsa headquarters were evacuated as executives believed the IDF would target the organisation, two sources said.

Please stop lying.

Under the laws of war, a journalist can lose their civilian status if they engage in planning, preparing or carrying out combat operations. Simply working for an organisation such as al-Aqsa does not make someone a legitimate target to be killed.

“Reporting the news is not direct participation in hostilities,” Janina Dill, a professor at the University of Oxford and expert in the laws of war, said. “Even if they reported the news in a biased way, even if they did propaganda for Hamas, even if Israel fundamentally disagrees with how they report the news. That is not enough.”
Combatants and civilians

Multiple Israeli sources said there had been a permissive approach to targeting across the IDF in a war aimed at the “total destruction of Hamas”.

Israel is a pseudo-Nazi state carrying out a Holocaust.

IndustryStandard OP ,

Hamas runs the government in Gaza.

This encapsulates mostly non-military affairs. Like hospitals, schools and in this case a media outlet. Some journalists get paid by the government which is ran by Hamas.

This is akin to a NPR journalists being classified as a military target because they work for the American government. Or any public hospital staff that gets paid by the government being classified as a valid military target

Kaboom ,

Which is why I said Hamas soldier and not doctor or whatever.

IndustryStandard OP ,

They are not soldiers

vzq ,

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