UPDATE: Journalist Samir Abudaqa has reportedly died from his injuries.
Recent video has also come out showing Israeli forces beating a Palestinian journalist in the West Bank.
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/15/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the attempted assassination of an Al Jazeera journalist by Israeli forces, the desecration of Gaza cemeteries by Israeli troops in Gaza, and a deadly airstrike targeting a UN school in Gaza.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We condemn these latest war crimes, including the targeting of independent journalists in Gaza, and we call on the Biden administration to do the same. Because the Israeli government refuses to allow western journalists safe and regular access to Gaza, local journalists like Wael Al-Dahdouh are the only sources of independent reporting on the impact of the Israeli government’s war crimes.
That’s why the Israeli military keeps targeting journalists and their families. This must end. So must the broader genocide, cultural erasure and ethnic cleansing of the Gaza.
LATEST ISRAELI WAR CRIMES:
Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh, who lost much of his family in an Israeli airstrike in October, was injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school in the Gaza town of Khan Younis today. Another journalist, Samer Abudaqa, was also injured in the strike. He remained near the scene of the incident for about two hours, as paramedics were unable to reach the site due to Israeli fire. The ambulance had to receive prior approval from Israeli forces before reaching Abudaqa. His medical condition is currently unknown.
SEE: Al Jazeera Reporter Who Lost Wife and Kids in Israeli Airstrike Is Seriously Injured Covering Gaza Explosion
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/al-jazeera-reporter-who-lost-wife-and-kids-in-israeli-airstrike-is-seriously-injured-covering-gaza-explosion/ar-AA1lyFf8
Two Al Jazeera journalists wounded in Israeli attack in southern Gaza
According to the New York Times, Israeli forces have reportedly damaged or destroyed at least six cemeteries since their ground assault on Gaza. In the Shajaiye neighborhood of Gaza City, Israeli forces razed part of the Tunisian cemetery to set up a military position. Earlier this month, Israeli forces destroyed dozens of graves at a smaller cemetery nearby. On the same day, in the Jabaliya neighborhood of Gaza City, satellite images showed tracks and possible military vehicles at Al-Faluja cemetery. Later images showed damage to graves but no established military positions.
SEE: Satellite Imagery and Video Shows Some Gazan Cemeteries Razed by Israeli Forces
An Israeli airstrike on a UN school in Khan Yunis reportedly killed 33 people according to officials at the Nasser Medical Complex.
SEE: Israel continues Gaza strikes, kill 33 in UNRWA school
https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-continues-gaza-strikes-kill-33-unrwa-school
He noted that a new US intelligence assessment concluded that nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions that Israel has used in Gaza have been unguided, also known as “dumb bombs.” Unguided munitions are typically less precise and can pose a greater threat to civilians.
SEE: Exclusive: Nearly half of the Israeli munitions dropped on Gaza are imprecise ‘dumb bombs,’ US intelligence assessment finds
Yesterday, CAIR condemned the Israeli government’s celebration of IDF troops who took over and desecrated a mosque in the West Bank as an “attack on Islam.”
SEE: CAIR Condemns Israeli Govt’s Violation of West Bank Mosque As ‘Attack on Islam’
OTHER RECENT ISRAELI WAR CRIMES:
Earlier this week, CAIR said the far-right Israeli government’s controlled demolition of a U.N. school in Gaza is “further evidence of the ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing.”
Video posted online shows a man, reportedly with special needs, being detained by Israeli soldiers and then shot at point-blank range.
CAIR condemned an Israeli attack on another hospital in Gaza and said the Biden administration is actively participating in Israel’s “ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people.”
CAIR condemned another “war crime of the day” – the slaughter of at least 50 civilians in airstrikes on two UN-run schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
CAIR recently called on the Biden administration to address reporting that the U.S. supplied the Israeli government with white phosphorus used in attacks on civilian areas.
The Israeli government’s extremist leaders have declared that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza, justified cutting off water, electricity and other basic necessities because Palestinians are ‘human animals,’ embraced an ancient biblical verse about the mass slaughter of an entire city from animals to infants, demanded a million residents of northern Gaza leave their homes or face death, and announced that the aim of the bombing in Gaza was destruction rather than accuracy.
CAIR said a new report by Heritage for Peace detailing Israel’s ongoing destruction of Palestinian cultural sites shows its desire to entirely “eliminate Palestinian existence.”
Washington, D.C., based CAIR questioned whether Western leaders even regard Palestinians as “human” after more than 700 women, children and men were massacred by Israel within just the last 24 hours.
CAIR condemned the “Israeli war crime of the day” after more than 100 men, women and children were killed in the bombing of residential buildings hosting displaced families in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com