White House fails to condemn Israel after it bombed media building

The White House has failed to condemn Israel after the regime bombed a building that housed several news organizations, including The Associated Press and Al Jazeera in Gaza City.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted on Saturday following the airstrike on the building that the safety of journalists is "paramount," but did not denounce the outrageous Israeli action.  

“We have communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility,” Psaki wrote.

The Israeli airstrike also drew criticism from Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who has strongly criticized Israel’s aggression in Gaza.

“Israel targeting media sources is so the world can't see Israel's war crimes led by the apartheid-in-chief Netanyahu. It's so the world can't see the killing of babies, children and their parents. It's so the world can't see Palestinians being massacred,” she tweeted.

Israeli forces launched the strike on the building on Saturday, amid the latest round of Israeli aggression in the area, the news outlets reported.

The entire 12-story building collapsed, according to AP. Al Jazeera shared a short clip on Twitter of the building crumbling after it had been targeted.

News outlets condemn Israeli strike

Al Jazeera condemned the attack, and called on “all media and human right institutions to join forces” in denouncing the bombing and to hold Israel “accountable.”

“Al Jazeera condemns in the strongest terms the bombing and destruction of its offices by the Israeli military in Gaza and views this as a clear act to stop journalists from conducting their sacred duty to inform the world and report events on the ground,” the Al Jazeera statement read.

“Al Jazeera promises to pursue every available route to hold the Israeli government responsible for its actions.”
 

The Israeli regime forces said they bombed the building because Hamas has "placed military assets" inside high-rise buildings for intelligence gathering, communication and other purposes, a claim media outlets have rejected.

"All the multi-story buildings targeted by the IDF were used for military purposes within each building," the Israeli military said in a statement.

AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement that the news outlet was "shocked and horrified" that the Israeli military would target the building.

"This is an incredibly disturbing development. We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life," Pruitt said. "A dozen AP journalists and freelancers were inside the building and thankfully we were able to evacuate them in time."

"The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today," Pruitt continued.

Earlier on Saturday, Israel launched an airstrike on a refugee camp in the besieged Gaza Strip, killing eight children of a Palestinian family.

The pre-dawn airstrike by Israeli warplanes against al-Shati refugee camp also killed two women from the Abu Hatab family and injured 15 others, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported.

The warplanes targeted their home near the al-Sousi mosque west of Gaza with three missiles, without prior warning.

Israel has been pounding the blockaded enclave with repeated airstrikes for the past several days.

At least 139 Palestinians, including 39 children and 22 women, have been killed and about 1,000 others injured in Gaza in the Israeli regime's latest round of aggression that began on Monday.

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