A group of 17 United States senators have appealed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pressure Israel to let journalists access Gaza and ensure they are protected, according to Al Jazeera.

“The United States must make it clear to Israel that banning and censoring media organisations and targeting or threatening members of the press is unacceptable and must stop,” the Democratic senators said in a statement.

“We urge you to press the Israeli government to protect journalists in Gaza and allow international media to access the territory.”

The letter condemned the Israeli attack last week that killed four Al Jazeera journalists as well as two freelance journalists, sparking international outcry.

“Absent a compelling explanation of the military objective for this attack, it appears Israel is publicly admitting to targeting and killing journalists who have shown the world the scale of suffering in Gaza, which would be a violation of international law,“ it said.