The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Israel to stop making “unproven claims that journalists slain by its forces are terrorists or engaging in militant activity”, and demands international, swift, and independent investigations into these killings, Al Jazeera reports.

The New York-based watchdog said: “Since the war began on October 7, 2023, Israel has used questionable and sometimes contradictory evidence to label at least three journalists killed by the [Israeli army] as members or suspected members of a militant organisation.”

“Smear campaigns endanger journalists and erode public trust in the media. Israel must end this practice and allow independent international investigations into the journalists’ killings,” said CPJ programme director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.

“Even before the start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ had documented Israel’s pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists without producing credible evidence to substantiate their claims,” he said.