United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza in an Israeli air strike on Monday.

“The secretary-general calls for an independent and impartial investigation into these latest killings,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

“At least 242 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Journalists and media workers must be respected, they must be protected and they must be allowed to carry out their work freely, free from fear and free from harassment.”

Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas also condemned the killing.

“We take note of the Israeli allegation that the group was Hamas terrorists, but there is a need in these cases to provide clear evidence, in the respect of rule of law, to avoid targeting of journalists,” she said in a statement.