Photojournalist Valerie Zink Resigns From Reuters Citing "Betrayal of Journalists" In Gaza

Photojournalist Valerie Zink, who worked as a stringer for Reuters News Agency for eight years, has resigned in protest, condemning the agency’s coverage of Gaza and accusing it of “justifying and enabling the systematic assassination” of 245 journalists, a toll she described as a “betrayal of journalists” in the besieged enclave.

“I have valued the work that I brought to Reuters over the past eight years, but at this point, I can’t conceive of wearing this press pass with anything but deep shame and grief,” Zink said. “I owe my colleagues in Palestine at least this much, and so much more,” she emphasised.

Zink specifically condemned Reuters’ reporting following the killing of Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif and Al Jazeera crew in Gaza City on August 10. She criticised the agency for publishing what she called Israel’s “entirely baseless claim” that Al-Sharif was a Hamas operative, calling it “one of countless lies that media outlets like Reuters have dutifully repeated and dignified.”

The recent bombing at Nasr Hospital killed 14 people, including four journalists who were reporting from the scene. Among those killed were Al Jazeera photojournalist Mohammed Salama, Reuters photojournalist Hossam Al Masri, Associated Press and The Independent Arabic correspondent Maryam Abu Daqa, and NBC journalist Moaz Abu Daha.