131 Israeli Journalists Urge End to Attacks on Reporters in Gaza

Tel Aviv, MINA – 131 Israeli journalists have urged the government to immediately halt attacks on Palestinian reporters in Gaza and to allow an independent investigation into the killing of journalists during the ongoing war.

The petition, titled “Journalists Call to End the War,” denounced what it described as systematic assaults on press freedom in Gaza.

“We are horrified by the continued killing of journalists in Gaza,” the signatories wrote, as reported by Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 168 journalists have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza, while Gaza’s Government Media Office puts the figure at 247 since October 2023.

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The petition also accused the Israeli government of deliberately restricting media access by barring foreign journalists from entering Gaza, despite repeated appeals by the Foreign Press Association to the Supreme Court.

In addition to condemning media restrictions, the statement demanded full accountability and expressed solidarity with Palestinian journalists.

“We call on the government to immediately end these attacks and allow an independent investigation into the deaths of our colleagues,” it said.

The petition further criticized Israeli media outlets for failing to adequately cover the humanitarian impact of the war. It said military censorship and self-censorship in newsrooms have severely undermined press freedom, while some outlets have given space to calls for war crimes, genocide, and persistent racial incitement.

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“We believe it is our humanitarian duty to demand an end to this war, the release of hostages, and the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction and our collective lives. We also call for a long-term solution based on peace, equality, security, and freedom for everyone in this land,” the petition concluded.

The statement coincided with a global campaign launched by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and advocacy group Avaaz, in which media outlets in 50 countries blacked out their front pages, displayed banners on news websites, and broadcast solidarity messages condemning the killing of journalists in Gaza.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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