Israel opens fire on Al Jazeera offices in Gaza Strip
The Israeli military attacked the offices of Al Jazeera in the Gaza Strip just one day after Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Minister, threatened to ban Al Jazeera from operating in either Israel or Gaza.
Al Jazeera claims that, "two very precise shots" entered their offices despite the absence of fighting nearby.
Images of the bullet and staff after they evacuated their office were posted online.
Al Jazeera Gaza Bureau chief shows high caliber round he says was one of at least two shot into the office by Israel pic.twitter.com/V80GUAuJ9K
— Tamer El-Ghobashy (@TamerELG) July 22, 2014
Al-Jazeera journalists sit on one of #Gaza city's streets, after their office was hit by 'precise' Israeli fire. pic.twitter.com/TmUKI0WgYP — Matthew Vickery (@MMVickery) July 22, 2014
@AlJazeera #Gaza live positions got drone-shot this am. Journalists wait to see if their office gets blown up pic.twitter.com/H5dkNkUXIE
— MarinePradel (@MarinePradel) July 22, 2014
Al Jazeera reacted strongly to the incident by saying, "The foreign minister’s comments were a direct threat against us and appear to have been taken as a green light for the targeting of our journalists in Gaza. We hold the Israeli authorities fully responsible. They have put the lives of journalists in danger." There were also reports that a BBC journalist was attacked.
Now press is under attack for reporting on #Gaza: BBC Arabic reporter attacked on air and Aljazeera office bombed. https://t.co/GDmmdUF7od — Jamil Dakwar (@jdakwar) July 22, 2014
Israel has denied intentionally targeting journalists working in either the Gaza Strip or greater Israel.
The attack on Al Jazeera journalists is sure to only add to the international opposition to Israel's ongoing invasion of Gaza. Images of dead children and families made homeless by Israeli munitions have fueled protests against Israel around the world. While the majority have been peaceful, some protests in France and Turkey have been violent and shockingly anti-Semitic.
