New Delhi: Journalists of Kathmandu gathered on Monday, January 1 evening, at the city’s Patan Durbar Square to express their solidarity and support for the journalists of Gaza, and to condole the death of more than 70 Palestinian journalists killed in the last two-and-half months.
The candlelight vigil included portraits of 22 journalists who were during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“The most frightful attack on journalists in modern times is being carried out by Israel against the journalists of Gaza while the world watches in real-time. We journalists of Nepal denounce the government of Israel’s killing of more than 70 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip over two-and-half months of its war with Hamas,” said a statement issued by journalists from Nepal.
A view of the solidarity protest with Gaza. Photo Credit: Suman Nepali and Gopen Rai.
Since the start of the war on October 7, more journalists have been killed in Gaza than all the journalists killed worldwide in the previous 12 months. Many of the deceased Gaza journalists also lost their family members to targeted bombardments, and those who survived have lost close relatives.
Despite international condemnation of Israel, journalists of Gaza continue to be killed and wounded even as they struggle to report the “ongoing genocide” at the hands of the Israeli military that has taken more than 22,000 Palestinian lives in Gaza, the statement said.
Reproduced below is the full statement:
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Journalists of Nepal Support Besieged Journalists of Gaza, Condemn Israel
The most frightful attack on journalists in modern times is being carried out by Israel against the journalists of Gaza while the world watches in real-time. We journalists of Nepal denounce the Government of Israel’s killing of more than 70 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip over two-and-half months of its war with Hamas.
More journalists have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023 than all the journalists killed worldwide in the previous 12 months. Many of the murdered Gaza journalists also lost their family members to targeted bombardments, and those fortunate to survive have lost close relatives.
The journalists of Gaza continue to be killed and wounded even as they struggle to report the ongoing genocide at the hands of the Israeli military that has taken more than 22,000 Palestinian lives in Gaza.
Nepali journalists hold a candlelight vigil in Kathmandu for journalists killed in the ongoing war in Gaza. Photo: Suman Nepali and Gopen Rai.
Gaza’s media persons have sought to inform the world of the genocide as they themselves suffer without shelter, separated from their loved ones, facing the ever-present threat of bombardment, and searching for food and water like the rest of the isolated population. The state of the journalists’ mental health can only be imagined, as they cover the carnage amidst constant fear of the missile strike or sniper’s bullet, reporting the mass murder of innocent children, women and men, and the displacement of people who were first uprooted as far back as 1948.
Our media colleagues of Gaza struggle to communicate with each other and to get news out amidst the destroyed communications infrastructure, electricity outages and internet shutdowns. Even when they manage to get through to the outside world, the propaganda machinery of the Israeli Government and its supporters try to sow doubt about the coverage from the ground. Gaza’s journalists also find it difficult to connect internationally through social media because many global platforms routinely suppress news from Palestine.
Amidst the many journalists who wrote their farewells while alive, we recall the words of the journalist Roshdi Sarraj, killed by a missile strike on 22 October. He wrote on Facebook: “We will not leave. And when we do leave Gaza, we will go to the sky, and the sky only.” From Kathmandu, we express our fellowship with the besieged journalists of Gaza and wish them strength to overcome all hardships as they provide witness to genocide.
Signed:
1. Aasim Jamal
2. Abhash Budhathoki
3. Anuj Bajracharya
4. Archana Darji
5. Daya Dudraj
6. Dhanu Bishwakarma
7. Dinesh Pant
8. Gopen Rai
9. Himali Dixit
10. Indra Shrestha
11. JB Pun Magar
12. Kanak Mani Dixit
13. Kiran Nepal
14. Masta KC
15. Mohd Ayub
16. Naresh Gyawali
17. Pinki Sris Rana
18. Rabi Raj Baral
19. Saniaa Shah
20. Sanjeev Satgainya
21. Sanjeev Sharma
22. Shamshad Ahmad
23. Suman Nepali
24. Sunil Pradhan
25. Tufan Neupane
26. Urmila Gamwa Tharu