Associated Press' top editor urges independent probe into Israeli airstrike that razed its Gaza offices
The Associated Press' top editor is calling for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera, and other media, saying the public deserves to know the facts.
Separately, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel's bombing of a building housing the media organizations as a possible war crime, reported by Business Insider.
Sally Buzbee, AP's executive editor, said Sunday on CNN that the Israeli government has yet to provide clear evidence supporting its attack, which leveled the 12-story al-Jalaa tower.
The Israeli military, which gave AP journalists and other tenants about an hour to evacuate, claimed Hamas used the building for a military intelligence office and weapons development. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Israel was compiling evidence for the US but declined to commit to providing it within the next two days.
"We're in the middle of fighting," Conricus told CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday. "That's in process, and I'm sure in due time that information will be presented."
Buzbee said the AP has had offices in al-Jalaa tower for 15 years and never was informed or had any indication that Hamas might be in the building. She said the facts must be laid out.
"We are in a conflict situation," Buzbee said. "We do not take sides in that conflict. We heard Israelis say they have evidence; we don't know what that evidence is."
"We think it's appropriate at this point for there to be an independent look at what happened yesterday — an independent investigation," she added.
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, known by its French acronym RSF, said in a letter to the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor that the offices of 23 international and local media organizations have been destroyed over the past six days.