Fairfax journalists remain in custody after deadly Israeli raid
The Sydney Morning Herald was today still out of touch with its two journalists being held after Israeli military commandos yesterday stormed an aid convoy they were accompanying.
However Fairfax chief correspondent Paul McGeough and photographer Kate Geraghty, are “both safe” the newspaper said.
In a piece in The Sydney Morning Herald today, the phone conversation with chief correspondent McGeogh was recounted up to the moment when his phone went dead during the deadly confrontation:
”The searchlights of the Turkish passenger ferry scan the water. Now there are five of them astern of us, white wakes on black water,” reported McGeough.
”Searchlights from one of the cargo ships and the Turkish ferry are picking up the Zodiacs now … radars spinning on them, armed troops …”
From that moment, 4.53am (11.53am Sydney time yesterday), McGeough’s phone went dead. ”Flashing red circles on the map … show us in the middle of the Mediterranean but we can’t tell the world the story,” he said.”
McGeough and Geraghty have not been heard from since yesterday when at least nine people were reported to have been killed after commandos stormed a convoy of six ships carrying aid to the Gaza strip.
But in a statement today, the Herald said that Fairfax Media had been advised McGeough and Geraghty “are being held by Israeli authorities in detention and are both safe”.
It is understood that they have been, or will be, transferred from the port facility at Ashdod to another detention facility in Beersheva. However Fairfax has yet to receive official confirmation of this development from the Israeli government,” the statement said.
Peter Fray, editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, added: “We are obviously very eager to make contact with Paul and Kate, who entered Israel as working journalists to do a legitimate job. We hope that the authorities respect their right to do that job. And, of course, the welfare of Paul and Kate is of paramount concern to us at this stage.”
McGeough is an award-winning journalist. Last month he was won top honours in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards for his book on the attempted assassination of a Hamas leader.
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