Hold AP Accountable for Its Complicity in the Murder of Journalists

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On Monday, August 25, during Israel’s assault on Al Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip, Mariam Abu Dagga, a freelance journalist for the Associated Press (AP), was assassinated alongside at least four other reporters and dozens of civilians. More than 80 others were wounded. According to the UN, “Video taken at the scene shows a second strike apparently targeting rescuers who had arrived at the scene of the initial attack on southern Gaza’s largest medical facility on Monday.” Israel’s bombing of Al Nasser Hospital – a site explicitly protected under international law – was not a mishap or an accident. It was an atrocity and a war crime.
Disturbingly, AP’s official response was shamefully inadequate. Instead of holding Israel to account, AP issued a sanitized statement: “We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law. These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness.”Worse still, AP’s reporting uncritically repeated Israel’s false talking points, giving cover to the very military that killed its own journalist. The AP ran claims by Israeli officials that the massacre was a “tragic mishap,” that “the army does not target civilians,” and that Hamas was to blame — without context, challenge, or the most basic fact-check. This parroting of propaganda is dangerous disinformation.

The facts are clear:

  • Israel deliberately attacked a protected hospital – a gross violation of international law.
  • At least five journalists were killed.
  • Israel’s own internal data shows 83% of casualties in Gaza are civilians.

AP cannot mourn its dead with one hand while laundering the killer’s excuses with the other. We demand that the AP Board:

  1. Publicly condemn the Israeli government for the targeted killing of journalists and civilians at Nasser Hospital.
  2. End the practice of amplifying Israeli military propaganda without scrutiny, especially when it directly endangers journalists and civilians.
  3. Protect its staff and freelancers by committing to honest, independent reporting that does not normalize war crimes.

Journalists are not collateral damage. They are targeted because they tell the truth. If AP fails to defend its own, it fails all of us.

Contact the AP Board today. Tell them: Enough is enough. Stop protecting Israel’s war crimes. Stand with your journalists.

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