International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has filed a complaint against Israel with the International Criminal Court over the killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
The Paris-based organization RSF said it was asking the ICC's prosecutor to investigate alleged war crimes committed by the Israeli army against at least nine Palestinian reporters since Dec. 15.
The ICC said in January it was probing potential crimes against journalists since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza, which has cost the lives of more than 100 reporters.
RSF said it had "reasonable grounds for thinking that some of these journalists were deliberately killed and that the others were the victims of deliberate IDF (Israel Defence Force) attacks against civilians."
This specific complaint – the third the RSF has made – concerns eight Palestinian journalists killed between Dec. 20 and May 20, and one other who sustained injuries.
"All concerned journalists were killed (or injured) in the course of their work," RSF said in a statement.
Antoine Bernard, RSF advocacy and assistance director, said: "Those who kill journalists are attacking the public's right to information, which is even more essential in times of conflict."
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan last week asked the court to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
'Deadliest period for journalists'
Meanwhile, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 107 journalists and media workers have been killed during the Gaza war, the "deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992."
The RSF complaint includes the case of two Palestinian journalists killed in January while working for Al Jazeera.
Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, who also worked as a video stringer for AFP and other news organizations, were killed while they were "on their way to carry out their duty" for the channel in the Gaza Strip, the network said.
The Israeli army told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) at the time it had "struck a ... who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops."
It added it was "aware of the reports that during the strike, two other suspects who were in the same vehicle as the ... were also hit."
The conflict was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which resulted in the death of more than 1,170 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Out of 252 people taken hostage that day, 128 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including at least 37 who the army says are dead.
Israel has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip since, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.