Twenty organizations and news outlets, seven freedom of expression and press organizations, and 113 journalists have signed a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the United States to end arms transfers to Israel to stop supporting the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.

The letter was initiated by the Courage Foundation, the Rights and Opposition Advocacy Organization, and Roots Action, and focuses on Israel's targeting of journalists in Gaza.

“Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 160 Palestinian journalists. This is the highest number of journalists ever recorded killed in any war,” the letter says. “While Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of densely populated Gaza means no civilians are safe, Israel’s deliberate targeting of journalists has been repeatedly documented.”

The letter notes that the mass killings in Gaza would not have been possible without American weapons and support. “Israeli military operations are not possible without American weapons, American military aid, and American diplomatic support. By providing the weapons used to intentionally kill journalists, you are complicit in one of the most serious forms of deliberate targeting of press freedom today.”

In addition to targeting journalists with bombs, Israeli authorities have also suppressed the press, including by closing down Al Jazeera in Israel. “Israel has gone to great lengths to suppress media coverage of its war in Gaza, imposing military censorship on both its own journalists and international correspondents operating in the country; and, with Egypt’s assistance, barring all foreign journalists from entering Gaza. Israel has closed down Al Jazeera, raided its offices, seized its equipment, and blocked its broadcasts and website inside Israel,” the letter reads.

The letter cites U.S. foreign aid laws that prohibit military aid to countries credibly accused of human rights abuses. “Israel’s well-documented pattern of extrajudicial executions of journalists constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights,” the letter says.

The letter concludes by urging an immediate end to US military support for Israel. “The United States provides weapons that Israel routinely uses to target Palestinian journalists in Gaza,” the letter states. “This is a violation of international law and US domestic law. We urge you to immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel.”

Blinken and other US officials claim to be concerned about the massive civilian death toll in Gaza but continue to arm Israel. Earlier this week, Blinken’s State Department approved a series of arms sales to Israel worth more than $20 billion, hours after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed newborn twins.