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A vigil is planned in Leeds to mourn the lives of all journalists and media workers killed during the war in Gaza.

The Leeds and West Yorkshire Branch of the National Union of Journalists is organising a vigil for journalists and media workers killed since the war in Gaza began.

It will take place at the Workers Memorial outside Leeds City Art Gallery on the Headrow, starting at 5.30pm on Monday 1st September 2025.

Members of the Branch will mourn colleagues who have lost their lives in Gaza whilst working to provide coverage for news organisations whose journalists are prevented by Israel from entering the territory.

August has seen significant casualties and loss of life among journalists in Gaza, with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reporting at least 233 journalists and media workers killed since 7th October 2023.

According to the IFJ, an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza on Monday 25th August, killed four journalists including Hossam Al-Masri, a photographer working for Reuters news agency; Mohammed Salama, a photo-journalist working for Al Jazeera; Maryam Abu Deqqa, a journalist working for outlets including the Associated Press and Independent Arabia, and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist working for NBC news.

On the same day, freelance journalist Ahmad Abu Aziz, who worked for media outlets such as Middle East Eye and was based in Khan Yunis, succumbed to the injuries he sustained from Israel’s attack on Nasser Hospital. He was the fifth journalist killed as a result of this strike.

Hours later, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) confirmed the killing of journalist Hassan Douhan, the director of the investigative reporting unit of Al-Hayat Al-Jadida newspaper. According to the PJS, Douhan was also shot by Israeli forces in his tent in Mawasi, Khan Yunis, on 25th August.

On 23rd August, the PJS reported the killing of Palestine TV cameraman Mohammed Mustafa Al-Madhoun, who was killed whilst covering events in the Zikim area, northern Gaza Strip.

‘Discrediting, targeting and killing’

NUJ members will pay tribute to their colleagues, lay a wreath at the Workers Memorial and read the names of all the journalists killed since 7th October 2023.

NUJ General Secretary, Laura Davison, says: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the murdered journalists and their colleagues.

“Journalists have specific rights under international law and once again these rights have been violated while other civilians have been killed as collateral damage.

“Israel has denied foreign reporters access to Gaza while systematically discrediting, targeting and killing local journalists.”

The NUJ has called on the UK government, which claims to be committed to press freedom, to exert serious pressure to protect journalists, uphold international law and support an investigation by the International Criminal Court into the blatant targeting of journalists and media workers by Israeli forces.

“There must,” said Ms Davison, “be immediate international action to end this obscene behaviour.”

NUJ members across the UK and Republic of Ireland have been holding similar vigils, including one outside Downing Street in London on Wednesday 27th August.

• Read more about the vigils and protests being organised by NUJ branches across the Union.
• Make a donation to the International Federation of Journalists’ Safety Fund

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Neil Wilby is a journalist, court reporter and transparency campaigner who has reported on police misconduct, regulatory failures, and criminal and civil justice since 2009. He is the founder and editor of Neil Wilby Media, launched in 2015.

Page last updated: Thursday 28th August 2025 at 14h25

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Image Credits: NUJ/Adonis Storr

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