'No one wants to live in a world where journalists are killed live on television'

As Israel kills five more media workers in Gaza, the UN says the 'eyes and ears of the world' must be protected.

- Ruth Michaelson reports

Plestia Alaqad knows what it's like to be a target. She has watched in horror as her former colleagues and her mentor were killed during Israel's 22-month assault on Gaza.

"I've always thought of journalism as a noble profession, but I never knew that being a Palestinian journalist is a crime," Alaqad writes in her recent memoir, The Eyes of Gaza, chronicling her life during the first 45 days of the war and eventual exile.

In one of the deadliest incidents of the war, a double strike on a hospital complex last week claimed the lives of five of her colleagues. Two weeks earlier, a targeted drone strike killed six journalists including Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, a reporter whose vibrant on-camera talent had vaulted him to prominence.

The Israeli military later claimed without proof that al-Sharif fought with Hamas. It also gave no evidence to justify killing several other journalists alongside him, or an explanation of how al-Sharif - who had previously denied the claim - could fight as well as appear on air throughout the day.

Alaqad fears that the struggle of journalists such as al-Sharif to show the reality of life in Gaza is given consideration only after their deaths. "We need to appreciate what these journalists are doing while they are alive," she told The Observer.

"When a journalist gets killed, you'll see their name and story all over the news. Then it's too late."