Canadian photojournalist Valerie Zink announced her resignation from Reuters news agency in protest against the agency’s role in promoting Israeli propaganda and adopting justifications for the killing of Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip, according to a post by the journalist on her personal Facebook account. Zink, who worked for eight years as an independent correspondent for Reuters, said, “It is impossible for me to maintain my relationship with Reuters given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza.” She pointed out that the repetition of Israeli lies by Western media and their abandonment of their primary responsibility as journalistic institutions allowed the killing of a number of journalists over two years that exceeds the death toll of World Wars I and II, and the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, and Ukraine combined.

The Canadian journalist explained that Reuters chose to publish Israel’s claim that Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, the late Anas Al-Sharif, was a Hamas agent, stressing that this is “one of countless lies repeated obediently and respectfully by media outlets like Reuters.” Zink added, “Reuters’ willingness to dedicate itself to Israeli propaganda did not save its correspondent from the genocide committed by Israel,” noting the martyrdom of five Palestinian journalists, including Reuters photographer Hossam Al-Masri, due to direct targeting of the Nasser Medical Complex on Monday. She described the attacks in Khan Younis as a “double strike,” pointing out that Israel bombs a civilian target such as a school or hospital, waits for the arrival of paramedics, rescue teams, and journalists, then strikes again.

The photographer, known for her solidarity with the Palestinian cause since the Second Intifada, held Western media responsible for providing the appropriate climate for Israel to commit its crimes, citing American journalist Jeremy Scahill’s statement that “all major media, from The New York Times to The Washington Post, and from the Associated Press to Reuters, have acted as a conveyor belt for Israeli propaganda, exonerating war crimes, dehumanizing victims, abandoning their colleagues, and betraying their supposed commitment to honest and ethical journalism.” Zink detailed in her resignation post how Reuters abandoned defending Anas Al-Sharif, who was part of their Pulitzer Prize-winning team in 2024, when the Israeli army placed him on the “assassination list” of journalists accused of belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

She added that Reuters did not defend the late Al-Sharif when the International Committee to Protect Journalists appealed for his protection following Israeli military spokesman incitement and the broadcast of a video proving their intent to assassinate him after a report he prepared about the worsening famine. Zink concluded her post by saying, “I have valued the work I have done for Reuters over the past eight years, but at this stage, I cannot imagine wearing this press card except with a deep feeling of shame and sadness.” The British site Declassified recently revealed in an investigation based on testimonies from Reuters employees and journalists the agency’s bias towards Israel in covering the genocide war on the Gaza Strip. Israel continues to prevent foreign press from entering Gaza to cover the genocide war there.

In this situation, Western American media often rely on the efforts of Palestinian journalists in the Strip, but multiple evidences indicate these media’s failure to defend cooperating journalists when exposed to Israeli threats, as well as their failure to demand protection guaranteed under international laws.