Elham Asaad Buaras
Hundreds gathered opposite Downing Street on August 27 for a solemn vigil emphasising the call to protect Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. Organised by the Freelance Branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), the event drew journalists, trade unionists, and human rights defenders, united in grief and a demand for action.
Participants held banners bearing the names of Palestinian reporters who had “paid the ultimate price” for documenting what experts are calling a genocide. Among them were five journalists killed earlier that month when Israeli forces struck the Nasser Hospital, as well as Hassan Douhan, a correspondent for Al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper, killed the same day in Khan Younis.
Ahead of the vigil, NUJ officials delivered a letter to No. 10 Downing Street, demanding the UK government act decisively to protect journalists and uphold press freedom in the face of attacks.
Speakers paid tribute to colleagues who continued reporting under fire. Former BBC and LBC presenter Sangita Myska highlighted the killing of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, who died on August 10 despite being identified as at risk by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“Governments neither said anything nor did anything about this,” she said, noting that Israel had unjustifiably labelled Al-Sharif a terrorist. “Israel still continues to threaten journalists. They are the bravest people on earth. They continue their work despite Israeli attacks and threats. But the West belittles their profession.”
Myska also pointed to the Nasser Hospital attack, stressing that those killed had worked for major outlets, including Reuters, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and Al Jazeera. She accused Western governments and media of hypocrisy. “If Russia had killed five journalists on a live broadcast, do you think the British media would have ignored it? I don’t think so. A Palestinian journalist being killed is not just the death of one person — it is the death of journalism.”
Pennie Quinton, chair of the NUJ London Freelance Branch, urged the UK to back an International Criminal Court investigation into what she described as the “blatant targeting” of journalists by Israeli forces.
Labour MP John McDonnell, secretary of the NUJ’s parliamentary group, joined the vigil, expressing solidarity with those demanding accountability.
Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq, who also addressed the crowd, was blunt: “Why does Israel kill journalists? Because it can. Because it knows it will answer to no one. Because reality is its greatest enemy. As long as no one opposes them, unfortunately, Israel will continue killing Palestinians. The Palestinian journalists who were killed will not be forgotten; their stories will continue to be told, and we will shout their names.”
NUJ general secretary Laura Davison echoed the main call of the vigil: solidarity with reporters in Gaza and urgent protection for their work. “We owe a collective debt to those reporting from Gaza in the most horrendous of circumstances. They represent our profession – a commitment to reporting what is happening on the ground, whatever the cost. And they have paid the price. They are the eyes and ears of the world.”
The vigil ended with the reading of the names of the deceased journalists and a funeral prayer in absentia. Similar commemorations were held in Belfast, Edinburgh, and Cardiff.
Since October 2023, at least 270 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the NUJ. Overall, more than 62,700 Palestinians have been killed as the war devastates Gaza, where the population is now on the brink of famine.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
