AA Director General: 'Attacks shall never daunt us'

ANKARA The Israeli army carried out an aerial attack on Anadolu Agency's office in Gaza on Saturday night, AA Director General Senol Kazanci said. "Our colleagues working in our Gaza office left the building shortly before the attack and prevented the loss of life," Kazanci said in a statement. It is clear that the Israeli Army has directly targeted the office and employees of the Anadolu Agency in Gaza. This attack on the Anadolu Agency and its employees is an attack on free press and the freedom of the people to access information. This attack by Israel is not the first attack on journalists and media outlets in Palestine. We want the whole world to know that these attacks cannot intimidate us. With our teams in Palestine and Gaza, Anadolu Agency will continue to inform the world uninterruptedly about the righteous struggle of Palestinians and unjustifiable aggressions of the Israelis. Israel's reckless assaults on civilians, children, women and the elderly has changed its dimension and is now directed towards media organizations, freedom of press, and the right of the world to receive information. The inaction to Israeli war crimes in the past is one of the most obvious reasons of the current recklessness. We invite all media organizations in our country and in the world to react and take a clear stance of solidarity in the wake of this Israeli aggression. Silence to this attack against the Anadolu Agency will embolden Israel to target other media organizations. We express our expectation of a sincere response from international organizations that claim to be sensitive to freedom of the press but are silent when the attack comes from Israel. I wish a quick recovery to our friends and their families in the Gaza office. I also express my gratitude to our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called me personally to convey his message of sympathy, as well as our ministers, citizens and the officials at the Palestinian Government and organizations.