Reuters Photojournalist Resigns, Accuses Agency of Enabling Gaza Journalist Killings

Valerie Zink, a Canadian photojournalist who worked with Reuters for eight years, has resigned from the news agency, accusing it of “justifying and enabling” the killing of journalists in Gaza.

Zink announced her decision on Facebook on Tuesday, August 26, where she shared an image of her destroyed Reuters ID card. She described the agency’s reporting on Gaza as a “betrayal of journalists” and said it had become impossible for her to remain affiliated with the organization.

“At this point it’s become impossible for me to maintain a relationship with Reuters given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza,” she wrote.

Criticism of Reuters’ Reporting

Zink accused Reuters of amplifying false Israeli claims, particularly after the killing of journalist Anas Al-Sharif and an Al Jazeera crew in Gaza. She said the agency repeated Israel’s “entirely baseless claim” that Al-Sharif was a Hamas operative, calling it one of many lies media outlets have “dutifully repeated and dignified.”

“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 added.

She further criticized Western media, quoting journalist Jeremy Scahill’s description of major outlets as “a conveyor belt for Israeli propaganda” that sanitizes war crimes, dehumanizes victims, and abandons ethical reporting.

Remembering Journalists Killed in Gaza

Zink highlighted the deaths of six journalists, including Reuters cameraman Hossam Al-Masri, in what she described as Israel’s “double tap” strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital. She accused Western media of creating the conditions for such attacks by repeating “genocidal fabrications without determining if they have any credibility.”

She said Gaza has seen more journalists killed in two years than in other major global conflicts combined, and vowed to dedicate her future work to honoring their courage:

“I owe my colleagues in Palestine at least this much, and so much more.”