Dozens of journalists have signed an open letter calling on Australian news outlets to improve their coverage of the war in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

The letter, among others, urges news organisations to apply the same professional scepticism to Israeli government and military sources as they do with Hamas.

“The Israeli government is also an actor in this conflict, with mounting evidence it is committing war crimes and a documented history of sharing misinformation. The Israeli government’s version of events should never be reported verbatim without context or fact-checking. This is our basic responsibility as journalists,” it reads.

The text also calls for adequate coverage to credible allegations of war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid, and urges newsrooms to not avoid using the term “Palestine” where appropriate.