PNN – Gaza is one of the most dangerous places in the world for media coverage. As a Palestinian living in Gaza, journalists are systematically and deliberately targeted by the Israeli regime.
Palestinian citizens are at risk from the moment they are born; they flee death at every moment amid the bombing and blockade of medical aid, water and food by the occupying regime. In these circumstances, local Palestinian journalists are the only ones who can provide the world with a clear picture of what is happening in Gaza.
After October 7, the 365-kilometer Gaza Strip became one of the most dangerous places in the world for media coverage. As Palestinians living in Gaza and working in a dangerous profession, journalists are living through the bloodiest period. Covering the conflict has become a major challenge for them due to internet and electricity outages. Ultimately, they are systematically and intentionally targeted by the Zionist regime so that the truth of the ethnic cleansing crimes of the Zionist occupiers is not published by the media.
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza in the past 22 months, 233 journalists and media activists have been martyred in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. Coinciding with the anniversary of the martyrdom of Mahmoud Saremi and Journalist’s Day, we have an opportunity to review and examine the martyrdom of some local Palestinian and non-Palestinian journalists by the crimes of the Zionist regime and why they are being targeted by the occupying regime, which is detailed in the rest of this report.
Attacks on Palestinian journalists: from media coverage to living spaces
The Israeli occupation army’s attacks on journalists are not limited to the places where they cover the media, but also bombard the homes of their family members. Al Jazeera’s bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdouh, said: They are taking revenge on us through our children. While covering the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip on October 25, 2023, Al-Dahdouh received news of the martyrdom of his wife, children, and several other family members in an Israeli airstrike. The attack came after the occupation forces bombed their home in the Nusirat refugee camp in central Gaza, where they had taken refuge after the bombing of their neighborhood and the call by the Zionist occupation forces for civilians to move to the southern Gaza Strip.
The attack on the Al-Dahdouh house was not the first and last crime of the occupation against journalists; the house of Muhammad Abu Hatab, a reporter for Palestine Television, was targeted along with 11 members of his family, all of whom were martyred. Muhammad Abu Hasira, a journalist for Wafa News Agency, was also martyred along with more than 40 members of his family, and his colleague Muhammad Hamoudah was injured in the bombing that targeted their homes.
Carlos Martinez, program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, condemned the martyrdom of Mansour and Shabat, saying in a statement: This nightmare in Gaza must end. He stressed: The international community must act quickly to ensure the safety of journalists and hold the Zionist regime accountable for the assassination of Hussam Shabat and Mohammed Mansour. Journalists are civilians and attacking them in a war zone is illegal.
Intimidation and attempts to silence journalists are not limited to Gaza; the West Bank has also witnessed a widespread wave of arrests and harassment of dozens of Palestinian journalists.
The occupation forces have also raided the homes of dozens of journalists in the West Bank, arresting, harassing and threatening them; Muhammad Ahmed Obeid and Musab Ibrahim Saeed. The occupation forces also arrested Samia Jawabrah, a journalist who was seven months pregnant. The Zionist authorities raided several printing houses in the city of Hebron, confiscating their contents and closing them down.
Silencing non-Palestinian journalists: from Yisrael Frey to Shirin Abu Aqleh
The martyrdom of Al Jazeera journalist Shirin Abu Aqla was one of the most prominent examples of the deliberate targeting of journalists by the occupying army in Jerusalem and the lack of accountability mechanisms. Cameras recorded Abu Aqla’s testimony in detail and broadcast it on various news networks around the world. Despite this, the occupiers had the audacity to deny committing a deliberate crime until they were faced with a body of overwhelming evidence. This evidence included a report by the United Nations Human Rights Commission that Israeli forces used “unjustified lethal force” in targeting Shirin Abu Aqleh, investigations published by CNN and the New York Times into the incident, and confirmation from eyewitnesses and forensic analysts that Shirin Abu Aqleh’s killing was a deliberate attack and not an accident.
Foreign journalists banned from entering Gaza
Local Palestinian journalists are responsible for covering the war for a global audience because the Israeli regime has maintained a ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza, despite calls from media outlets and press freedom organizations around the world to allow unrestricted access.
The Israeli Supreme Court has still not issued a ruling on a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association in the Palestinian Territories for independent access to foreign media. Until now, the occupiers have only allowed a small number of foreign and Israeli journalists into Gaza as part of joint military visits, which are heavily controlled and do not allow journalists to move around more freely. According to Ginsberg, this level of restrictions is completely unprecedented. Certainly, when you talk to war correspondents who have covered every crisis from Chechnya to Sudan, the lack of access to Gaza is completely unprecedented.