ROME, June 22, 2025 (WAFA) – Dozens of Italian journalists and media professionals held a sit-in on Sunday at Porta San Giovanni Square in the Italian capital, Rome, to protest and denounce the Israeli occupation’s crimes against Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
Participants held photos of journalists who were killed in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. They called for respect for international law and demanded concrete actions to end the genocide in Gaza, including Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip and the immediate entry of aid provided by the United Nations and other relevant international organizations.
During the sit-in, participants issued a statement asserting that a genocide is unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, where the killing of 226 journalists marks an unprecedented figure, surpassing even those recorded in the major conflicts of the 20th century.
The statement stressed that it is thanks to the sacrifices of these journalists that the world has come to know the reality of what is happening in Gaza. It noted that this comes amid ongoing Israeli efforts to block international media access to the Strip, while continuing to target Palestinian journalists and their families with deadly attacks.
The demonstrators also denounced the media's double standards when reporting on victims of Israeli violence. They urged the Italian and European press to freely use the term "genocide" when describing the situation in Gaza.
Additionally, they called on editorial boards and official institutions in Italy to take a firm stand, stating that silence is no longer acceptable and encouraging greater mobilization among Italian journalists.
They further appealed to Italy and the European Union—both bound by specific international obligations—to take decisive steps to prevent and halt the ongoing genocide.
The statement also demanded that Israel respect the right to media coverage by immediately allowing international media access to Gaza and the occupied Palestinian Territory. Refusing this access, they argued, constitutes an arbitrary violation of the right to information and a breach of fundamental democratic principles.
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