UNESCO awarded yesterday its World Prize for Freedom of the Media to all Palestinian journalists covering the events in Gaza, who have been risking their lives for more than six months under the blows of the Israeli offensive in the enclave after the attack of "Hamas" against the southern part of Israel, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
"In this time of darkness and disaster, we want to send a strong message of solidarity and recognition to the Palestinian journalists who cover this crisis under such dramatic circumstances," commented Mauricio Weibel, president of the International Jury of Media Professionals.
"Humanity owes them a huge debt for their courage and commitment to freedom of speech," he added in a press release.
Audrey Azoulet, Director-General of UNESCO, stressed "the importance of collective mobilization so that journalists everywhere can continue to do their core work of reporting and investigating".
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP), an association based in New York, since the beginning of the war between Israel and "Hamas" on October 7, at least 97 journalists and media workers have been killed so far, 92 of them Palestinians. Another 16 journalists were injured.