Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) has issued a strong condemnation of Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The organization asserts that Israeli forces have carried out deliberate and sustained airstrikes, resulting in the devastating loss of entire families. WJWC highlights the worsening humanitarian and media crisis, underscoring the urgent need for international intervention as the war in Gaza enters its 19th month.

The organization sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued denials of civilian targeting, describing them as disinformation intended to mislead the international community and shield Israeli leadership from accountability.

“Massacres are no longer isolated incidents. They have become part of an open and systematic policy,” WJWC said in a statement.
Since the resumption of Israel’s military offensive on March 18, 2025, at least 2,151 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The total death toll since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, has reached 52,243. Children, women, and the elderly account for over 65% of the fatalities.

In a recent public address, Netanyahu defended the military campaign, claiming, “They [Israeli forces] told me they killed 12,000 fighters and not a single civilian.” He reiterated assertions first made to the U.S. Congress in July 2024, claiming civilian casualties in Gaza were “the lowest in history.”

Human rights groups and media watchdogs, including Women Journalists Without Chains, have challenged these claims, citing extensive evidence of civilian casualties, including entire families erased in single airstrikes.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, more than 7,250 families have been destroyed in the war. Of these, 2,180 families were completely annihilated, while 5,070 have only one surviving member.

Documented Attacks on Civilians
WJWC documented a series of fatal airstrikes during the latter half of April that targeted civilian areas and shelters: 
•    April 27, 2025: Fifty-one bodies were received at Gaza hospitals following Israeli airstrikes, including a direct hit on a cafeteria in the Nuseirat refugee camp. In Khan Yunis, warplanes bombed the home of the Kaware’ family, killing all members, including Zainab al-Majayda and her six children.
•    April 25, 2025: An Israeli drone strike on a displacement tent in Khan Yunis’ Mawasi area wiped out the Abu Ta’ima family, including a pregnant mother and her three children.
WJWC emphasized that such attacks appear to follow a pattern of intentional targeting of civilians using heavy missiles, suicide drones, and advanced munitions disproportionate to any military objective. The organization asserted that these tactics violate international humanitarian law and the principle of proportionality.
Journalists and Their Families Targeted
The war has also taken a severe toll on Gaza’s journalist community, with 212 journalists killed since October 2023—more than in any modern conflict, including World War II and the Vietnam War.
On April 25, journalist Saeed Abu Hasanein, his wife, and daughter were killed in an airstrike that hit their displacement tent. Abu Hasanein, a veteran reporter at Sawt al-Aqsa Radio, was known for his persistent reporting under blockade and bombardment.
Nine days earlier, on April 16, renowned photojournalist Fatima Hassouna was killed along with ten family members when Israeli forces bombed her home. Hassouna had documented daily life under siege and starvation in Gaza and was preparing to marry in the summer.
Shortly before her death, she posted: “If I die, I want a loud death. I don’t want to be just breaking news, or just a number in a group. I want a death that the world hears.”

Her life and work were recently featured in an Iranian documentary titled Put Your Soul in Your Palm and Walk, which had been accepted to the Cannes Film Festival a day before her death.

With foreign journalists barred from entering Gaza, Palestinian reporters like Hassouna and Abu Hasanein have borne the sole responsibility for exposing the conflict’s realities, often at the cost of their lives.

Escalating Humanitarian Crisis
The military offensive is compounding what aid organizations have described as a full-blown humanitarian disaster. The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of imminent famine following a seven-week total blockade on aid. All WFP-supported bakeries ceased operations in March due to the lack of wheat and fuel, and hospitals remain critically short on medicine and supplies.

“Food stocks are completely depleted,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “Thousands are at immediate risk of starvation.”
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described Gaza’s current state as a “bleak moment,” calling for the urgent lifting of the blockade to prevent further civilian deaths.

In early March, Israel halted all aid entry into Gaza, with Prime Minister Netanyahu threatening further escalation. WJWC accused Israel of weaponizing hunger in violation of international law.

“The starvation campaign risks reaching Phase 5 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification—death due to hunger,” the organization warned.
WJWC has called on the international community to end its silence, warning that inaction in the face of war crimes undermines global legal norms and amounts to complicity.
“The deliberate targeting of civilians, homes, and shelters meets the legal threshold of genocide,” the organization stated, referencing the 1948 Genocide Convention and the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions.

The organization urged world governments to impose sanctions on Israel, including:
•    An immediate arms embargo
•    Freezing the assets of Israeli leaders involved in the war
•    Suspending all economic and military agreements with Israel
WJWC also demanded referrals to the International Criminal Court (ICC), enforcement of existing arrest warrants, and independent investigations into atrocities committed in Gaza.
“Palestinian victims are not collateral damage,” the organization declared. “They are human beings deliberately targeted in a campaign of extermination and forced displacement.”