New Delhi: Palestinian journalists covering Gaza have been named winners of the 2024 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
The winners were chosen upon the recommendation of an international jury of media professionals.
In the absence of foreign media – whose path is blocked by Israel – local journalists have been the eyes and ears of the Gaza Strip as Israeli strikes kill enormous numbers of civilians there. The UNESCO has recorded the deaths of 26 journalists, but the actual number could be much more.
Al Jazeera places the number of dead journalists and media workers at “more than 100.” Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh has lost multiple close family members and was himself wounded in an Israeli strike. The channel’s cameraman Samer Abudaqa was killed while reporting in southern Gaza. Israel has meanwhile ordered Al Jazeera off its air.
Mauricio Weibel, who heads the jury, said in the awards’ press release, “In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances. As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression.”
The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize is given annually, as a “tribute to the courage of journalists facing difficult and dangerous circumstances,” according to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has 194 member states.
