News agency Al Jazeera's bureau in Gaza came under attack yesterday and had to be evacuated, the broadcaster has claimed. The network's news room is on the 11th floor of a building in a residential area in central Gaza city.
"Two very precise shots were fired straight into our building," said Al Jazeera correspondent Stefanie Dekker. She claimed the shots "caused a lot of panic" and the building had to be evacuated but no casualties were reported. Pictures of the rounds that entered the building were later posted on social media.
Al Jazeera Gaza Bureau chief shows high caliber round he says was one of at least two shot into the office by Israel pic.twitter.com/V80GUAuJ9K — Tamer El-Ghobashy (@TamerELG) July 22, 2014
The Israeli army has denied responsibility for the attack, but it comes just a day after Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman told the local press that the government would be working to end Al Jazeera's operations in Gaza.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He said Al Jazeera has "abandoned even the perception of being a reliable news organisation" accusing the channel of being the mouthpiece of Hamas by broadcasting "anti-Israel incitement, lies, and encouragement to the terrorists".
In a statement accusing Israel of firing the shots, Al Jazeera described Lieberman's comments as a "direct threat against us and appear to have been taken as a green light for the targeting of our journalists in Gaza". It added that the incident was "a dark sign for all journalists operating in the territory".
A lawyer representing the network said the Israeli army had a duty under international law to protect journalists "and most certainly not to target them in the manner threatened by Mr Lieberman yesterday and put into effect today by Israeli soldiers".
Al Jazeera often faces criticism of its reporting from conflict zones in the Middle East and has been "banned, at different times, from almost every country" in the region, The Guardian reports.
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
-
Gaza’s reconstruction: the steps to rebuildingIn The Spotlight Even the initial rubble clearing in Gaza is likely to be fraught with difficulty and very slow
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
‘Extraordinary asymmetry’: the history of Israeli prisoner swapsIn The Spotlight Exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is the latest in a series of trades in which Israeli lives appear to count for more
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
