The Left in the European Parliament has nominated Shireen Abu Akleh, Yasser Murtaja, Hamza Al-Dahdou, Wael Al-Dahdouh, Plestia Alaqad and Roshdi Sarraj, representing all journalists in Palestine, for the European Parliament’s annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.  

MEP Rima Hassan (La France Insoumise) said the nomination aims at keeping the attention on Gaza and at promote the safe access of journalists to the territory:  

“In 2023, 70% of journalists killed worldwide were Palestinian. Through the nomination of Palestinian journalists for the Sakharov Prize, we wish to pay tribute to those who, often at the risk of their lives, courageously commit themselves to the service of truth in order to document the genocide in Gaza or the colonisation of the West Bank carried out by Israel.”

The genocidal war on Gaza has taken an unprecedented toll on Gazan journalists over the last year. According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), at least 134 journalists and media workers have been killed in the offensive. (September 2024) 

Many more journalists have also been injured, missing, or falsely imprisoned, in a war that took over 42,000 lives. Other reporters have faced threats, cyberattacks, and censorship, making this war the deadliest on record for journalists. 

Under international humanitarian law, journalists in conflict zones are civilians – and targeting them is a war crime. Nowhere is safe in the besieged enclave. As civilians, hospitals and schools are bombed, and millions suffer from famine and dreadful hygiene conditions, under an unqualifiable silence of the European institutions, for The Left it’s essential to honor the work of press and media workers, who bravely risk their lives and safety to protect and promote the essence of democracy: truth.

Israel’s far-right government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, shows no signs of halting the violence. The urgency of the situation in Gaza demands immediate action and international solidarity.