We stand with Gaza journalists. We stand for press freedom.

The Independent joins Reporters Without Borders and hundreds of media outlets around the world to direct our collective attention to Israel’s targeting of journalists in its effort to quash press freedom and stop the flow of information out of Gaza to the rest of the world.

Today, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue their brutal military campaign against the people of Gaza, adding to the already incredulous civilian death toll (according to IDF’s own internal documents) in the tens of thousands, at minimum, many of them women and children. Israel has also targeted and murdered an unprecedented number of journalists in Gaza, whose presence and reporting from the war-torn region has humanized victims and exposed war crimes in one of the most horrific humanitarian disasters of our time.

In Canada, journalists and media advocacy groups routinely fight for press freedom here at home, the attacks on which are identifiable but far less brutal than those today in Gaza. We resist governments, corporations and police forces who intimidate or arrest journalists trying to shine a light on grave injustices. In 2016, when I was charged for reporting from the Indigenous-led occupation of Muskrat Falls in Labrador, press freedom groups around the country and world spoke up in support of The Independent’s work and condemned Nalcor Energy’s, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s, and the RCMP’s efforts to criminalize our journalism.

To stand for press freedom anywhere is to stand for press freedom everywhere. Journalists are our eyes and ears on the ground in places most of us can’t be. They bring us truths, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable. Without them, we cannot access important facts and context, therefore cannot purport to know the truth of a situation. Without the information and knowledge we obtain from journalists’ reporting, we cannot make the informed decisions necessary to protect the things we cherish most.

Israel’s military knows this and has killed at least 200 journalists in Gaza, including many high-profile reporters. Last month, as RSF reports on its website:

an Israeli strike killed six media professionals in Gaza, five of whom currently work or formerly worked for the Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera and one freelance journalist. The strike, which has been claimed by the Israeli army, targeted Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, whom it accuses, without providing solid evidence, of “terrorist affiliation.” Reporters Without Borders condemns this disgraceful tactic, which is repeatedly used against journalists to cover up war crimes, while the army has already killed more than 200 media professionals. RSF calls for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to stop this massacre.

The Independent hopes this act of solidarity with our counterparts in Gaza, the West Bank and throughout Palestine and Israel, will help bring attention to the most horrifying attack on press freedom anywhere in the world today. We stand with journalists in Gaza and around the world calling for immediate action to end Israel’s targeting of journalists in Palestine.