More than 130 media and organizational media outlets concerned with defending journalists on Thursday asked Israel to allow the global press to “enter immediately, without restrictions” to the Gaza Strip after prevented foreign correspondents from entering it since October 7, 2023, with some exceptions.
“Twenty months ago, the Israeli authorities have prevented journalists from outside Gaza from reaching independently to the Strip, which is an unprecedented situation in the contemporary history of armed conflicts,” said the site of the Al -Risala prepared by Reporters Without Borders and the New York -based Journalists Protection Committee.
“Local journalists face the best ability to transfer reality, the risk of hunger or exile,” the text of the letter. To this day, about 200 journalists were killed by the Israeli army, and many were wounded, and they face continuous threats to their safety; Because they perform their duty: conveying the truth. ”
The letter bore the signature of Phil Chitiwind, the director of news at the French Press Agency, the director of the American Associated Press, and the editor -in -chief of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the wake of the attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli army carried out a large -scale attack on Gaza, killing thousands, and caused massive destruction in the Strip.
After a full siege for more than two and a half months, Israel has allowed since May 19 to the entry of a limited number of United Nations trucks to Gaza. The United Nations describes the volume of aid as a “drop in the vicinity” given the needs of about 2.4 million people threatened with famine.
Israel also closed Gaza in front of foreign correspondents, but allowed some correspondents to keep up with its soldiers for short periods.
The major foreign media relies on crews of Palestinian journalists from Gaza, who have been exhausted from the shelling operations that have continued for twenty months, while others managed to leave the Strip, and they cover the situation remotely with the support of individuals present on the ground.
Many young men in Gaza, such as Moataz Azayza and Baysan Odeh, resorted to social media, especially Instagram, where they have thousands of followers, to share the Palestinian diaries under the weight of the Israeli bombing.
The message added, “At this pivotal moment, with the resumption of military operations and the efforts made to continue to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza, it is necessary for Israel to open the borders of Gaza (…)”, calling on “world leaders” to pressure to achieve this goal.
“When journalists are killed in unprecedented numbers, independent international media are prevented from arriving (Gaza), the world loses its ability to see things clearly, realize what is happening completely and move effectively,” said Judy Ginsburg, head of the Journalists Protection Committee.
The director of the “Reporters Without Borders” organization, Tibo Protein, said that the media blockade imposed on Gaza “allows complete destruction and eradication of the besieged area.” He added in a statement, “It is a coordinated attempt to silence the facts, suppress the truth and isolate the Palestinian press and the people.”
A message was issued on Thursday on the same day when the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate announced the killing of three journalists in an air strike near a hospital in Gaza City.
The Israeli army said that the strike targeted a “terrorist from the Islamic Jihad movement who was working in a command and control center” in the hospital yard.
The international media has repeatedly demanded, and in vain to allow foreign correspondents to enter the Gaza Strip without restrictions.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), based in Jerusalem, which represents correspondents working in the international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, presented an appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court to challenge the decision to prohibit the entry of Gaza.
