- An open letter released by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders called the restrictions “a situation without precedent in modern warfare.”
NEW YORK: More than 130 news organizations and press freedom groups on Thursday called on Israel to immediately lift a near-total ban on international media entering Gaza, while calling for greater protection for Palestinian journalists in the territory.
Israel has blocked most foreign correspondents from independent access to Gaza since it launched a war there following an unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023.
An open letter released by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders called the restrictions “a situation without precedent in modern warfare.”
Among those signing the agreement were AFP global news director Phil Chetwynd, Associated Press executive editor Julie Pace and Israeli newspaper Haaretz editor Aluf Benn.
The letter also said that many Palestinian journalists, who news outlets rely on to cover events in the Gaza Strip, face a range of threats.
“Local journalists who are best placed to tell the truth are facing displacement and hunger,” the statement said.
“To date, nearly 200 journalists have been killed by the Israeli military. Many more have been wounded and face constant threats to their lives for doing their job: testifying.
“This is a direct attack on press freedom and the right to information.”
The letter also said it was a “turning point” in Israel's war – with renewed military action and efforts to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza.
This, he said, makes it “crucial that Israel opens Gaza's borders to international journalists so that they can report freely, and that Israel abides by its international obligations to protect journalists as civilians.”
Jodi Ginsberg, director general of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a separate statement that Israel must grant journalists access and allow them to work in the Gaza Strip “without fear for their lives.”
“When journalists are killed in such unprecedented numbers and independent international media are denied access, the world loses the ability to see clearly, fully understand and effectively respond to what is happening,” she said.
Reporters Without Borders chief Thibault Brutten said the media blockade of Gaza “contributes to the complete destruction and annihilation of the blockaded territory.”
“This is a systematic attempt to silence the facts, hide the truth and isolate the Palestinian press and population,” he said in a statement.
Thursday's letter was published the same day the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate reported that three reporters were killed in a strike near a hospital in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted “an Islamic Jihad terrorist operating in a command and control center” in the hospital courtyard.
