Hundreds gather in front of San Francisco's Reuters building to mourn Gaza's journalists killed by Israel

This week, people around the world are mourning the lives of Palestinian journalists in Gaza who were killed in targeted Israeli airstrikes on Sunday.

On Tuesday evening in San Francisco, hundreds of demonstrators marched from Union Square to the Reuters news office in the financial district to mourn the lives of the seven journalists killed in an Israeli attack on al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday and to raise awareness of the growing starvation imposed by Israel on the besieged enclave.

Wearing keffiyehs, holding signs advocating for press freedom and chanting in support of Palestinians in Gaza, the demonstrators through downtown. On the way, some drew chalk sketches of Palestinian journalists. They then gathered in front of the Reuters office building, where organisers took turns giving speeches.

One speaker said, "Israel can kill the reporter, but they can't kill the story."

Another speaker read a final statement by 28-year-old Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, one of the most prominent of the seven journalists killed in the attack.

"This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice," he wrote in a message shared on Sunday.

"I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification," the statement continued. "Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance."

Following the speeches, demonstrators were invited to join in the sunset Maghreb prayer on a large tarp on the pavement. A young man sang the adhan and worshippers bowed in prayers, as community marshals stood in line, creating a barrier from the police standing on the street.

"We came out here to make a political statement that we stand with the people of Gaza, and we stand against the war crime of genocide that’s being committed against them," Noah Roberts, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and an organiser of the demonstration, told The New Arab, as the gathering came to a close.

"We also came here to the Reuters building to point out the fact that a lot of these journalistic institutions have reported somewhat on the issue, but they haven't really put their foot down about journalist values," he said.

“The thing about the Palestinian people is they don’t give up. I think the brave, steadfast journalists who remain in Gaza are going to continue their work of showing the entire world exactly what is happening,” he said.

Since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023, more than 240 journalists have been killed, making it the deadliest conflict ever for journalists.