Israeli authorities have declined requests for a “critical medical evacuation” of two Al Jazeera camera operators who sustained severe injuries in Gaza, as reported by the network on Tuesday.
The camera operators were identified as being injured in attacks allegedly carried out by Israeli occupation forces nearly two weeks ago. One of the operators was shot in the neck during an attack at the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, resulting in paralysis, significant respiratory issues, and neurological complications.
Following this incident, the Israel Defense Forces stated that they were not aware of any troops in the specified area at the time of the attack. In a separate incident, another camera operator was severely injured by shrapnel from an airstrike in central Gaza, leading to a cerebral hemorrhage, ongoing convulsions, and severe damage to the nervous system.
Al Jazeera expressed deep concern over the deteriorating health conditions of the camera operators, attributing the lack of adequate medical care to the dire situation in Gaza, including continuous bombardment and the collapse of medical facilities. Medical teams on the ground urgently requested the evacuation of the journalists to prevent their conditions from worsening to a fatal extent.
The alleged refusal by Israeli authorities to facilitate the medical evacuation was condemned by Al Jazeera, which emphasized that such actions could pose a direct threat to the lives of the camera operators and potentially amount to willful murder if they were to succumb to their injuries.
