Journalists' Bloc: Occupation Bears Responsibility for Martyrdom of Detained Journalist Iyad Diab

The Palestinian Journalists' Bloc mourned the martyrdom of detained journalist Iyad Muhammad Diab, who died inside Israeli occupation prisons after his arrest and mistreatment, holding the occupation fully responsible for his death and demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all detained Palestinian journalists. The bloc said in a statement that Diab's death represents "a new crime added to the record of crimes committed against Palestinian journalists," noting that he was subjected to arrest, concealment, and deprivation of his family from knowing his fate for long months. It explained that the martyr Diab, a graduate of Al-Azhar University in 2012, received training at several local media agencies and worked as a photographer for a local company before the occupation's hand reached him. According to the statement, occupation forces arrested journalist Iyad Diab on December 12, 2023, in the Al-Lababidi area of Gaza City, before he died as a martyr inside occupation prisons on September 18, 2024, while his family was informed of his death months after his fate was concealed. The Journalists' Bloc affirmed that what detained journalists are subjected to in occupation prisons constitutes an ongoing crime, amid testimonies and information about their torture, ill-treatment, and deprivation of their basic rights and humanitarian needs. The bloc held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the death of journalist Diab and for the safety of all Palestinian journalists and prisoners inside its prisons. It called on international, human rights, and journalistic institutions to assume their responsibilities and open a serious and independent investigation into the crimes of torture and violations against detained journalists, urging the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian journalists detained in occupation prisons and enabling them to exercise their legal and humanitarian rights. It stressed the need to stop the policy of arbitrary arrest, concealment, and torture against Palestinian journalists, affirming that targeting, arresting, and torturing journalists "will not erase the truth, nor will it stop the message of Palestinian journalism in conveying the suffering of our people and exposing the crimes committed against them."