The Freedom of the Press Foundation has condemned Israel’s killing of five Al Jazeera staff, calling for international action to halt further attacks on the media.

“Everyone who has been angered by recent horrific images of starvation and suffering in Gaza needs to recognise that they wouldn’t see those images, and wouldn’t know about the atrocities their governments bankroll, without journalists risking their lives,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the New York-based nonprofit, said in a statement, Al Jazeera reports.

“That is exactly why Israel is targeting and killing them in violation of international law. Now, perhaps more than any other time since the killing began, the world understands how vital these journalists’ work is.

“The calls for the assassinations to end must be louder than ever, and we can’t let our leaders get away with mere expressions of concern or performative condemnations while the money and weapons Israel uses to exterminate journalists and other civilians keep flowing.”