The Gaza government announces that the number of journalists killed has risen to 254.

The government media office in the Gaza Strip announced on Wednesday that the death toll of journalists since October 7, 2023, has risen to 254, following the killing of two journalists in an Israeli airstrike.

The government office stated in a press release: "The number of martyrs among journalists has risen to 254 since the beginning of the genocide against Gaza, following the announcement of the martyrdom of journalists Sami Dawood and Yahya Barzaq."

It was mentioned that journalist Sami Dawood works for "Rawafed" television channel, while journalist Yahya Muhammad Barzaq works with several media outlets.

The office condemned "the systematic targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation," calling on Arab and international journalist unions to denounce "these systematic crimes against the journalists and media personnel of Gaza."

It held "the Israeli occupation, the American administration, and the countries participating in the genocide, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France; fully responsible for committing these heinous and brutal crimes."

The international community was urged to exert effective pressure "to stop the genocide and to protect journalists and media personnel in the Gaza Strip, and to halt the crime of killing and assassinating them."

Since the onset of the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli army has deliberately targeted Palestinian journalists, despite repeated international and European human rights demands to exempt them from targeting.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, resulting in 66,148 deaths and 168,716 injuries, most of whom are children and women, along with a famine that has claimed the lives of 455 Palestinians, including 151 children.