Another journalist dead in Gaza. Another name added to the grim tally of media workers killed while doing their job. Israeli airstrikes today hit a home in Gaza City, killing journalist Mohammad Salhi, a correspondent for local news outlet Al-Quds Today. The strike, which also killed three members of his family, has drawn condemnation from Downing Street, with the UK Foreign Office issuing a statement demanding Israel ensure the safety of journalists in the conflict zone. But calls for protection ring hollow when the bombs keep falling.
Salhi becomes the 134th journalist killed since October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. That's 134 voices silenced. 134 reporters who can no longer file their stories. The pattern is clear: journalists are being targeted. Sources on the ground tell me the Israeli military knew exactly where Salhi was. His press vest was visible. His car was marked. Yet the missile found him anyway.
'This cannot be a coincidence,' says Rana Sabbagh, a veteran Jordanian journalist and former executive director of the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism. 'When you have this many journalists killed in a three-month period, you have to ask: is this a systematic effort to eliminate independent reporting?'
The UK's demand for press protection is the latest in a long line of pleas. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Cameron tweeted: 'We are deeply concerned by the killing of journalist Mohammad Salhi. We call on Israel to uphold international law and protect journalists.' But words are cheap. What action has been taken? Has the UK suspended arms sales to Israel? No. Has it pushed for an independent investigation? No. Has it even condemned the strike in the strongest terms? Only in the blandest diplomatic language.
The Israel Defense Forces say they 'regret any harm to civilians' but claim 'Hamas operatives embed themselves in residential areas.' This is the standard response. It blames the victim. It excuses the killer. It is a script we have heard for decades. And it is wearing thin.
Documents obtained by this desk show that the Israeli military has shared lists of journalists with intelligence agencies, branding them 'terrorist operatives.' These lists have been used to justify strikes. One source within the Israeli military, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me: 'They want to control the narrative. You can't have independent witnesses to what is happening on the ground.'
Salhi was not just a journalist. He was a father. A husband. A man who believed in telling the truth. His last post on Facebook read: 'We will not be silenced.' He was wrong. He has been silenced. But the rest of us? We keep writing. We keep investigating. We keep demanding answers.
The UK's demand for protection is a start, but it is not enough. It would be more meaningful if it came with consequences. If the UK truly wants to protect journalists, it must hold Israel accountable. It must demand an independent investigation into every journalist killed. It must impose sanctions if Israel fails to comply. Anything less is just a press release.
The bullets are fired. The bombs fall. The journalists die. And the world looks away. But we do not look away. We keep count. We keep names. We keep demanding justice. Because that is what we do. That is all we can do.
