The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) have filed a joint case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Anas Al-Sharif and his colleagues in Gaza, said a joint statement on Aug. 12.
As per an Anadolu report, on Aug. 10, the 28-year-old journalist was filming outside Al Shifa Hospital when a missile struck the tent where he and other reporters were sheltering. Seven people were killed, including four Al Jazeera journalists and one working for Sahat Media Platform.The Israeli military later admitted that the strike was deliberate, accusing the victims of being “terrorists in press vests.”
The ICC filing names senior Israeli military and political figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and accuses them of war crimes and genocide.
It urges the court to issue arrest warrants, expand Netanyahu’s warrant to include crimes against journalists, and include the killing of more than 220 journalists in its Palestine investigation.
“The assassination of Anas Al-Sharif was so blunt, so arrogant, and so drenched in contempt for human life, truth, the legal order, and humanity itself that it cannot and will not be allowed to pass into silence,” said HRF Chairman DyabAbouJahjah.
Underlining the evidence present, they urged the ICC to “move past statements of ‘grave concern’ and take the decisive step that justice demands: act.”