حرية الصحافة في غزة

Israeli officials oppose the necessity of allowing journalists to work independently inside Gaza.

The continued denial of access for nearly two years is not aimed at protecting journalists as much as it is aimed at preventing proper scrutiny and accountability regarding the situation in Gaza.

What Israel wants the least is for journalists to witness and document its actions in Gaza.

By July 2025, 217 journalists had been killed in Gaza by Israelis. As of June 5, 126 staff members from the United Nations and non-governmental organizations had been killed in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces.

The benefit of banning journalists is evident in the world's largely indifferent response to the ongoing military operations, leaving only one direct narrative of what is happening in Gaza, which is Israel's narrative.

With the ongoing condemnations of Israel in its war from various entities and international organizations, no one is talking about press freedom, which seems a luxury in the face of famine and genocide.

Days ago (July 23, 2025), more than 100 organizations sounded the alarm to allow life-saving aid into Gaza.

But they did not speak about the ban on the entry of journalists who, if they were present now inside Gaza, would be as emaciated as its residents, and this would have a greater impact on the human conscience.

This is what happened with relief workers who joined food lines, risking being shot just to feed themselves. As supplies have completely run out, international humanitarian organizations witness their colleagues starving and dying before their eyes and under the gaze of the world.

I believe that many free journalists around the world are questioning the justifications for this ban and its resonance with the silent international conscience, which is very strange; if the situation were reversed and the side preventing journalists from entering was the Palestinian side, we would have seen a different reaction.