CAPE TOWN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- South African journalists and media workers led a march in Sea Point, Cape Town, on Sunday, calling for greater protection for Palestinian journalists in Gaza and expressing solidarity with their slain colleagues.
The demonstration, which organizers said drew more than 2,000 participants, followed an Aug. 10 airstrike on a tent outside Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital that killed five Al Jazeera correspondents and a freelance journalist.
The march was organized by Journalists Against Apartheid (JAA) and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, with support from groups including Mothers4Gaza, South African Jews for a Free Palestine, and Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine.
South African journalists condemned what they described as Israel's systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists for exposing war crimes and acts of genocide. JAA denounced the "media massacre" in Gaza, accusing Western outlets of amplifying Israeli narratives while silencing Palestinian voices.
"We are enraged by Western media that have repeated Israeli lies without scrutiny while silencing Palestinian voices, permitting this genocide to continue," said JAA member Deshnee Subramany, reading a statement from the organization.
The group also criticized South African media houses for participating in sponsored propaganda trips to Israel without disclosing the funding sources of their reporting.
Demands from the marchers included the release of Palestinian journalists detained in Gaza and the West Bank, an end to Israel's media ban, and the entry of foreign correspondents into Gaza.
The final words of prominent Gazan journalist Anas al-Sharif, one of those killed, were read aloud by Palestinian journalist Aziz Bakr, moving the crowd to tears.
A group of 25 veteran journalists endorsed a letter of solidarity to be sent to the South African government and the Israeli embassy.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed 269 journalists in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera, citing data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, and Shireen.ps, a database compiled by Palestinian reporters.
