The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has threatened to take legal action against Israeli officials if reporters working in Gaza are targeted by the military, CNN reports.

In an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the IFJ said around 10 per cent of journalists working in Gaza had been killed during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“Such has been the mortality rate among news gatherers — around three times that of health workers, for example — that it is impossible to believe that this is a matter of chance,” the letter said.