- Lazzarini said the Israeli authorities' refusal to grant access to foreign media since the start of the Gaza war was unprecedented in the modern conflict.
AMMAN: The head of the UN refugee agency for Palestine has sharply criticised Israel for barring international journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, calling the ongoing restriction a “ban on reporting the truth”.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said the Israeli authorities' refusal to grant access to foreign media since the start of the war in Gaza was unprecedented in modern conflicts.
“This is unlike any other conflict in modern history,” Lazzarini wrote in a post on X. “It essentially prevents journalists from reporting the truth from Gaza.”
Israeli authorities have banned international journalists from entering #Gaza since the war began 20 months ago.
This is unprecedented for any other conflict in modern history.
This is a ban on the truth.
This is a ban on reporting facts.
This is the perfect recipe for…— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) June 6, 2025
He warned that the continued ban on international coverage had serious consequences, calling it “the perfect recipe for the spread of media disinformation, deepening polarization and obscuring humanity.”
Lazzarini called for an immediate end to the ban on foreign media and urged Israel to facilitate access for international journalists. He also called for support for Palestinian journalists who remain in Gaza and continue to report in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions.
“The world must not remain in the dark,” he said.
The remarks come amid growing international concern over press freedom in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian journalists have borne the brunt of the conflict and face limited external scrutiny due to access restrictions.
