The building, which housed the Associated Press' Gaza Bureau, as well as supposed offices of Hamas was levelled by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.
Many have criticized Israel for its decision, however according to The Daily Wire, "the reason Israel targets these civilian buildings is because Hamas and Palestinian authorities hide intelligence operations, weapons, and other important assets in these buildings, so that it can claim victimhood when they’re destroyed."
In their article about the event, The Associated Press said that "staffers and other tenants safely evacuated the building after the military telephoned a warning that the strike was imminent within an hour." This proves that Israel's intentions were only to target Hamas, not journalists or civilians.
Nevertheless, president and CEO of The Associated Press, Gary Pruitt, was quick to condemn Israel, issuing a statement in which he said, "We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza." Apparently forgetting that his team had been notified by the Israeli military beforehand, he stated that they "narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life."
Pruitt suggested that "the world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today." The leader of the Committee to protect Journalists even went so far as to suggest that "the Israel Defense Forces is deliberately targeting media facilities in order to disrupt coverage of the human suffering in Gaza."
The Associated Press referred to the airstrike as "an incredibly disturbing development", however perhaps even more disturbing is Hamas' alleged use of journalists as human shields.
YouTube video
Loading this lets YouTube set cookies and collect data.