Australian journalist sacked over Gaza, vows to 'continue fight'

An Australian journalist who was sacked for a social media post about the situation in the Gaza Strip vowed on Thursday to continue her legal battle, saying her case was about "free speech."

"I'm willing and prepared to fight for as long it takes and I want to take a moment to thank the millions of people around," Antoinette Lattouf, former ABC journalist, told reporters in Sydney after making her submission during a virtual hearing by the Fair Work Commission.

Lattouf, who is of Lebanese origin, was sacked last month after a campaign against her and ABC leadership by an Israeli lobby group in Australia.

"There is so much support around the country but also overseas," noted Lattouf, who alleged in her complaint that one of the reasons of her termination was race.

"This is such an important case because it is not just about me it is about free speech, it is about racism," she added.

Lattouf said her case was significant because "it is about the important role journalists play in truth telling."

ABC fired Lattouf last month for reposting an article of Human Rights Watch (HRW) about the besieged Palestinian enclave on Instagram.

The international human rights organization published a study detailing how Israeli authorities in Gaza employed starvation as a weapon of war.

"And crucially it's also about a fair independent and robust ABC. I love the ABC. I will always advocate and fight for an ABC that can operate, inform, and entertain the masses without the fear or favor," she said of her former employer.

The journalist, who has vowed to continue her fight for as long "as it takes," is crowdfunding to pay for her legal expenses in her court case against Australian broadcaster.

Lattouf's case followed the resignation of ABC's Parliament House bureau journalist Nour Haydar.