Three leading press freedom organizations, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), on Tuesday, October 15, urgently called on the Israeli military office responsible for humanitarian coordination, known as COGAT, to authorize the evacuation of two critically wounded journalists who require immediate, lifesaving medical treatment.
The letter, a rare public plea, follows frustrated diplomatic efforts and direct appeals to COGAT by the three organizations since the journalists — Ali Al-Attar and Fadi Al Wahidi, camera operators for Al Jazeera — sustained severe injuries while working in Gaza last week. In the letter, the organizations called for expedited approval for the journalists’ medical evacuation to Jordan or Qatar.
“The Israeli military’s duty under international humanitarian law is to protect civilians, including journalists, and to ensure the wounded receive timely medical assistance,” the organizations wrote. “Targeting journalists is a clear violation of international law relating to situations of armed conflict. We respectfully ask for your immediate intervention to facilitate the necessary permissions for this evacuation.”
Read the full letter here.