UK journalists rallied in central London on Wednesday in solidarity with Gaza colleagues after Israeli strikes earlier this week killed five reporters.
A letter demanding accountability and increased UK action to protect media workers was delivered by members of Britain's National Union of Journalists (NUJ) outside Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Downing Street office and home.
Following that, participants staged a vigil during which they read out the names of more over 200 journalists who have been murdered in Gaza since the Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli military action that followed.
At least 20 persons were murdered in Monday's attacks in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, including the five reporters who were employed by Reuters, the Associated Press, and Al Jazeera, among other organizations.
International outcry has been sparked by the Israeli military's announcement on Tuesday that its forces were aiming their weapons toward a Hamas-operated camera.
Journalists have been slain in Israel's most recent military operation, which has sparked claims that they are being targeted on purpose.
Earlier this week, the NUJ declared that its members would participate in what it dubbed a "48-hour solidarity action in support of journalists working in Gaza," which began on Tuesday and involved sister unions worldwide.
“We’re here to show solidarity, and to show that we are horrified as fellow journalists about what’s happening,”
said Deborah Hobson, a freelance journalist and NUJ member who helped organize the vigil and letter delivered to Starmer.
She called his center-left government’s response to the latest killings of journalists, as well as prior incidents, “extremely poor.”
“There’s nothing that says that the UK is horrified,”
Hobson said.
“We have a prime minister who’s a human rights lawyer,”
she added, referring to Starmer’s career prior to entering politics.
“We expect better from a Labor government in any case, because of its historical reputation in terms of justice, equality.”
In response to Israel's handling of the war, the UK government has sanctioned two far-right Israeli ministers, halted free trade negotiations with Israel, and suspended licenses for the transfer of weapons to Israel for use in Gaza in recent months.
It was one of 27 nations that demanded last week that Israel grant Gaza "immediate independent foreign media access."
Mike Holderness, a writer and editor, said he had turned out “to honor and remember our colleagues, as well as demanding the strongest measures of protection” for journalists still working in Gaza and elsewhere.
“The vigil is to honor the memory of those who’ve given their lives to trying to report the truth.”
How did UK political leaders respond to the journalists' deaths?
The spokesperson for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated that the UK government is "deeply concerned" about the deaths and demanded an independent investigation for those attacks. Starmer stressed that Israel must ensure the safety of journalists, including allowing them to report without fear.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called on the UK government for more than just words, demanding justice and an independent investigation, along with free access to Gaza for the media to support journalists on the ground.
The Foreign Press Association as well as media rights organizations announced their objection to deliberate targeting of journalists and reiterated respect for press freedom.