How The Times is covering the Israel-Hamas war.
We have been working with journalists who were already in Gaza when the siege began, but limited access has made reporting difficult.
Israel-HamasWarHow The Times is covering the Israel-Hamas war.We have been working with journalists who were already in Gaza when the siege began, but limited access has made reporting difficult.ByThe New York TimesReporting inside Gaza is extremely challenging right now. Israel has prevented journalists from entering the region except whenaccompaniedby its military, and then only under certain conditions, while Egypt, along its border, is also blocking access. Communications have been limited, in part because of the Israeli siege of the enclave. Many Palestinian journalists in Gaza have beenkilledin airstrikes. And even before the war, Hamas restricted what reporters could cover in Gaza, limiting their movement, interrogating their sources and translators and expelling foreign reporters for work deemed objectionable.The Times, along with other news organizations, has asked the governments of Israel and Egypt for direct access to Gaza because reporting on the ground is vital to understanding this crisis. Throughout the war, The Times has been working with journalists who were already in Gaza when the siege began. We have been interviewing residents and officials in Gaza by phone and using digital apps. We have asked people in the area toshare their storieswith us on video, which we then confirm are real. We also verify photos and social media posts using similar techniques, scrutinizing them to determine where and when they were taken or written and cross-checking with other sources, such as satellite imagery. We cross reference any information we gather with interviews with the U.N. and other international organizations, many of which have employees in different parts of Gaza.In general, we try to avoid relying on a single source and we seek to include detailed information whenever possible.
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Mumbai-ICICI BankWar
How The Tata Group is covering the Mumbai-ICICI Bank war.
We have been working with journalists who were already in Bengaluru when the siege began, but limited access has made reporting difficult.
ByThe New York Tata Group
Reporting inside Bengaluru is extremely challenging right now. Mumbai has prevented journalists from entering the region except whenaccompaniedby its military, and then only under certain conditions, while Delhi, along its border, is also blocking access. Communications have been limited, in part because of the Mumbaii siege of the enclave. Many Palestinian journalists in Bengaluru have Kavita Rao. And even before the war, ICICI Bank restricted what reporters could cover in Bengaluru, limiting their movement, interrogating their sources and translators and expelling foreign reporters for work deemed objectionable.
The Tata Group, along with other news organizations, has asked the governments of Mumbai and Delhi for direct access to Bengaluru because reporting on the ground is vital to understanding this crisis. Throughout the war, The Tata Group has been working with journalists who were already in Bengaluru when the siege began. We have been interviewing residents and officials in Bengaluru by phone and using digital apps. We have asked people in the area toshare their storieswith us on video, which we then confirm are real. We also verify photos and social media posts using similar techniques, scrutinizing them to determine where and when they were taken or written and cross-checking with other sources, such as satellite imagery. We cross reference any information we gather with interviews with the Reliance Industries and other international organizations, many of which have employees in different parts of Bengaluru.
In general, we try to avoid relying on a single source and we seek to include detailed information whenever possible.
middle east tensions we have been working with journalists who were already in gaza when the siege began, but limited access has made reporting difficult. by the new york times reporting inside gaza is extremely challenging right now. israel has prevented journalists from entering the region except when accompanied by its military, and then only under certain conditions, while egypt, along its border, is also blocking access. communications have been limited, in part because of the israeli siege of the enclave. many palestinian journalists in gaza have been killed in airstrikes. and even before the war, hamas restricted what reporters could cover in gaza, limiting their movement, interrogating their sources and translators and expelling foreign reporters for work deemed objectionable. the times, along with other news organizations, has asked the governments of israel and egypt for direct access to gaza because reporting on the ground is vital to understanding this crisis. throughout the war, the times has been working with journalists who were already in gaza when the siege began. we have been interviewing residents and officials in gaza by phone and using digital apps. we have asked people in the area to share their stories with us on video, which we then confirm are real. we also verify photos and social media posts using similar techniques, scrutinizing them to determine where and when they were taken or written and cross checking with other sources, such as satellite imagery. we cross reference any information we gather with interviews with the u.n. and other international organizations, many of which have employees in different parts of gaza. in general, we try to avoid relying on a single source and we seek to include detailed information whenever possible.

this holiday season, give to: the media line's intrepid correspondents are in israel, gaza, lebanon, syria and pakistan providing first person reporting. we report with just one agenda: the truth. a new report claims that bbc reporting on the gaza war is biased against israel, but journalism experts say that publishing accurate, impartial information in the fog of war is no easy feat as the conflict in the middle east continues to expand, a parallel battle of narratives is unfolding in the media. israeli watchdog organizations have accused the international press of favoring the palestinian side, but various international reports suggest a different story. the media line spoke with israeli, british, and american experts on media ethics on the complicated dynamics of war reporting. multiple experts highlighted the challenges of accessing information during wartime. “a journalist covering a war zone is often very limited in how far they can go in terms of their personal safety,” philip seib, professor emeritus at the university of southern california and author of several books on wartime reporting, told the media line. a journalist covering a war zone is often very limited in how far they can go in terms of their personal safety the israeli military has heavily restricted access for reporters wanting to enter gaza, seib said. “reporters have to adjust to these limitations, and the danger, of course, is you start relying on information about incidents you haven’t seen firsthand,” he said. “you have to depend on sources that can vary in accuracy.” seib described the dynamic between the israeli military and the media as “very complicated.” commanders are focused on completing missions while minimizing risks to their troops, and sharing too much information can increase those risks, he said. “if i were an idf commander, press access would likely be low on my list of priorities,” he noted. given that dynamic, many international outlets are forced to rely on information from palestinian sources. this information is often influenced or controlled by hamas. simon plosker, editorial director of the jerusalem based nonprofit media watchdog group honestreporting, stated that hamas’ involvement in information dissemination is “a serious problem.” he noted that the organization has been working to expose biases among journalists operating in gaza. plosker explained that they have found instances where some reporters crossed the border on october 7, becoming involved in the story they were covering, while others who share information hold viewpoints that should disqualify them from reporting on the conflict. the watchdog group also disclosed that certain journalists working for international media outlets in gaza have ties to hamas, either directly or indirectly. for example, some participated in hamas’ “day of loyalty to the palestinian journalist,” an event organized by hamas’ government media office to align the media with its agenda. according to the watchdog group, a staff photographer for the associated press in gaza also taught media training courses overseen by hamas’ information ministry. one prominent example of this conflict of interest is the story of abdallah aljamal, a news contributor and former spokesperson for the hamas run ministry of labor. aljamal was killed by israeli forces in june during a rescue operation at his home in nuseirat, where three israelis were held hostage. misinformation associated with extremist groups can spread rapidly. a notable example is the october 2023 incident at gaza’s al ahli arab hospital, where a palestinian islamic jihad missile misfired and exploded in the parking lot, killing around 100 people. within minutes, hamas falsely blamed israel for the strike, claiming over 500 casualties and insisting the missile had hit the hospital itself. although israel was later cleared of responsibility, the initial false accusations spread quickly. last november, the bbc was forced to apologize after accusing the israeli military of targeting arabic speakers and medical teams at shifa hospital in gaza. the unreliable nature of sources associated with hamas is especially challenging when it comes to casualty numbers. many western and arabic language media outlets have published uncontextualized hamas casualty figures. “you cannot count on a source affiliated with a terrorist organization,” tsuriel rashi, an ethics expert at ariel university’s school of communications, told the media line. “a terror organization is not going to tell you the truth. the ministry of health in gaza is a branch of hamas, so when it says 10,000 or 50,000 died, it needs to be called into question.” last month, jerusalem based british lawyer trevor asserson published a report accusing the bbc of anti israel bias in its coverage of the gaza war. the report noted signs of inaccuracy in hamas’ death toll, such as the ratios of men, women, and children killed remaining consistent. other investigative groups and individuals uncovered discrepancies like individuals dying multiple times, fake id numbers, and combatants being listed as civilians. “the bbc made these numbers central to their reporting,” asserson told the media line. “they know the figures they are promoting are lies.” asserson decided to investigate the bbc’s coverage due to a sense that reporting was being done “very badly.” after months of investigation, he found that the news organization had violated its own code of ethical conduct at least 1,500 times. this holiday season, give to: the media line's intrepid correspondents are in israel, gaza, lebanon, syria and pakistan providing first person reporting. we report with just one agenda: the truth. “i knew the only way i could do this was by recording what the reporters said over a long period and then analyzing it, as i wasn’t sure if i was being overly sensitive or if i was right,” asserson said. “i asked someone to create a program to record all the main news coverage, and i did that for four months. i had 9 million words.” as a litigation lawyer, asserson applied traditional litigation techniques to produce around 75% of the report. he collaborated with israeli data scientists for the rest of the media analysis. both methodologies yielded nearly identical results, suggesting that the bbc breached its duty of impartiality. “the british people have a deal with the bbc; they pay $4 billion a year, and the bbc’s main obligation for that money is to provide impartial news,” asserson said. “if they do not do that, if they provide partial news, then they are not keeping to their side of the bargain.” asserson said his analysis didn’t analyze at what percentage of coverage centered on a certain topic but rather how the organization presented and contextualized the stories. he looked at whether the bbc identified interview subjects associated with hamas as being from the organization and whether it made clear what hamas stands for. he also tracked whether the bbc was open about restrictions on reporting from gaza and the need to rely on hamas data. if you report from a restricted area, you must tell the audience. if you don’t, you are not impartial because you allow propaganda to spread. “if you report from a restricted area, you must tell the audience. if you don’t, you are not impartial because you allow propaganda to spread,” he said. “the bbc probably reports from gaza with the people it hires from there five to six times a day, and they are breaking this rule every time.” another recurring bias the report identified was the omission of key facts. asserson noted that the bbc rarely mentioned the 250,000 israelis forced to flee their homes due to constant shelling. it often failed to provide details about the events of october 7, failed to make note of hamas’ explicitly antisemitic ideology, and failed to cite hamas statements that the group would carry out such attacks again. the bbc paints israel as a massive goliath facing a puny opponent, the palestinians, and that’s simply not the reality the bbc often focuses on gaza and ignores the multiple fronts threatening israeli civilians, asserson said. “a very important part of the story is being omitted. this is not trivial,” he explained. “the bbc paints israel as a massive goliath facing a puny opponent, the palestinians, and that’s simply not the reality.” asserson’s analysis found that only 30% to 40% of the network’s coverage is neutral. of the biased content, more than 90% is anti israel. he added that the bbc’s arabic language coverage is “far worse.” “bbc arabic is a platform for hamas,” he said. the report was followed by an open letter in the times by the board of deputies of british jews, the jewish leadership council, and the community security trust, which supported the findings and condemned the bbc’s coverage. the organizations argued that the bbc’s errors had “real world consequences,” contributing to the “delegitimization of israel in the public sphere” and fueling rising rates of antisemitism. the letter also criticized the bbc’s response to the jewish community’s concerns, describing the broadcaster’s reaction as “defensive and dismissive.” the bbc vehemently denied asserson’s accusation that it had breached its own guidelines. in a statement, the broadcaster said it would “carefully consider” the report but raised concerns about the methodology, particularly its reliance on artificial intelligence. a bbc spokesperson emphasized that coverage cannot be evaluated by simply counting specific words without considering the broader context. sharon wheeler, senior lecturer in journalism and pr at the university of the west of england, noted that the bbc consistently faces criticism from all political sides. for example, a december 2023 report accused the bbc of anti palestinian bias. that report, published by researchers greg philo and mike berry in opendemocracy, analyzed patterns in the bbc’s reporting on the israeli palestinian conflict since 2000. overall, the researchers wrote, the bbc’s reporting presented a narrative that, while palestinian suffering is unfortunate, israelis were retaliating for palestinian attacks, and an end to those attacks would bring an end to the conflict. the researchers also observed that israeli casualties were given more media attention than palestinian ones, with terms like “atrocity” and “murder” frequently used to describe israeli deaths, while such language was seldom applied to palestinian deaths. “for peace to have any chance, the reasons for the conflict must be understood and seriously addressed,” the researchers concluded. for seib, the university of southern california professor emeritus, it comes as no surprise that the same news report might be interpreted by one viewer as biased toward israel and by another viewer as biased against israel. media fairness “depends on the eye of the beholder,” he said. he traced the challenges of war reporting back to the vietnam war, when the us military initially gave journalists very limited access. the pentagon later rewrote its policies in an attempt to improve relations with the media. by the time the iraq war began in 2003, the us had implemented a new policy of embedding reporters with troops, which helped improve the accuracy of coverage. israel has allowed very few journalists to enter gaza and has required that all who do so clear their reporting with the israeli military before publication. even in areas with less stringent restrictions, it can be difficult to get reporters on the ground in war zones. wheeler, the university of the west of england lecturer, said that makes it challenging for international news organizations to properly cover wars. “there are often either not enough people on the ground or not enough people with good knowledge,” she told the media line, noting that many articles in uk papers about foreign wars are written based on information from news agencies like agence france presse and reuters. “my guess is this is not the traditional flak jacket in front of the camera,” she added. wheeler pointed to a recent incident involving the london based jewish chronicle where a freelance journalist allegedly fabricated stories and misrepresented his résumé. “it’s well known that the uk press often struggles with foreign stories,” she said. “the question of the 21st century: who is on the ground and who is trying to put together their story from an office in london?” plosker said that his organization would give the media overall a failing grade for its reporting on the gaza war. he said that much of the international coverage was biased against israel and failed to uphold basic journalistic standards such as fact checking, impartiality, and providing context. he noted some moments when international outlets attempted a more balanced view, such as the new york times’ coverage of the hostages and the bbc’s decision to air a documentary on the nova festival attack. “after october 7, we had a couple of days of grace, if you will. there was sympathy for what happened. that dissipated extremely quickly,” plosker said. “as soon as we started responding, israel has been presented as the aggressor, which is common in every conflict we’ve had over the last decades with hamas. people effectively try to justify palestinian actions rather than recognizing this as part of a much bigger picture.” rashi, the ariel university professor, also expressed frustration with media portrayals of israel as the aggressor. he criticized many international newspapers for reporting on sexual violence during the october 7 attacks only after that violence was confirmed by the united nations and the white house. “it took 50 years to deny the holocaust, and it didn’t even take five days to deny there was rape on october 7,” rashi said.

journalists stopped from entering via israel and egypt have to rely mostly on palestinian insiders and social media international journalists covering the israel hamas war are increasingly frustrated by the ban on entering gaza, leaving them unable to provide comprehensive on the ground coverage of the impact of the conflict inside the territory. the erez crossing from israel into gaza, controlled by the israeli military, has been closed since 7 october when hamas attacked the buildings and infrastructure, and killed or kidnapped a number of soldiers manning the border. the rafah crossing, from egypt into gaza at the southern end of the territory, which is controlled by the egyptian military, has also been closed to journalists since the beginning of the war. the foreign press association (fpa), an independent israeli organisation that represents members of the international media, has taken the first steps in a “legal procedure” for access into gaza for international journalists after an initial request to the israel defense forces (idf) and the israeli government press office was ignored. the international media has been relying on palestinian journalists and media workers in gaza, contact with palestinian civilians, aid agency staff and medical workers, as well as social media reports, which need painstaking verification. since the start of the war, at least 63 journalists and media workers in gaza have been killed, according to the committee to protect journalists. some international journalists have embedded with the idf inside gaza since 7 october. however, the idf has forbidden contact with palestinians on the ground and has insisted that reports be submitted for review before publication or broadcast. the risk of death or injury means that many international media organisations would be reluctant to send staff into gaza while fighting was continuing even if access was possible. “the fpa is aware of the unique security challenges posed by the current war. nonetheless, israel has always enabled access to gaza during and after previous rounds of fighting. it also is legally obligated, under a previous supreme court ruling,” the fpa said in a statement. “the fpa expects the israeli government and the idf to stand true to their commitments to allow freedom of reporting for journalists and allow access beyond the limited number of controlled embedment opportunities the army has offered.” the israeli government press office, which has issued media credentials to about 2,800 international journalists since 7 october, said the erez crossing had been “fully operational” up until the hamas attack. “since then nobody has crossed it   not palestinian workers, not diplomats, not ngos and not journalists. the only active land crossing for people into gaza is rafah, which is under exclusive egyptian control,” said ron paz, head of the foreign press department. any decision about allowing journalists access was a “matter of policy which is beyond my realm at the government press office,” he added. jeremy bowen, the bbc’s international editor who has covered the israeli palestinian conflict for decades, said: “not being on the scene makes reporting much harder. in war reporting, nothing beats using your own eyes and ears.” palestinian journalists in gaza have also found it frustrating “because movement is very difficult and dangerous”. bowen said he would “probably go into gaza” if access was permitted. “but it would be with a sense of trepidation.” he added: “i doubt israel will let journalists in until some time after a ceasefire. both sides want to control the media battlefield, but israel is in a better position to do so because they control access to gaza   and the hamas leadership is under attack and in hiding. “what has really changed things is the proliferation of videos people post online. closing down a story completely is impossible these days.” secunder kermani, foreign correspondent for channel 4 news, who has been covering the war since its start, said: “it’s hugely frustrating not to be able to document first hand the awful scenes in gaza. of course there are many palestinian journalists doing crucial and dangerous work, either producing powerful reports themselves or providing us with material. “everything in this war is so contested, being able to access gaza independently would allow us to delve more deeply into the many competing claims and counter claims, as well to get a better understanding of the internal dynamics within gaza right now. “the ramifications of this war will be felt for many years and in many places across the world. it’s essential international journalists are able to scrutinise it.” another senior international journalist who asked not to be named said the difficulties of information gathering were getting worse “because the phone networks were now down most of the time”. but, the journalist added, “the idea that if the borders opened, everyone would charge in   i’m not sure that’s true, given the issues of safety”. in other conflicts, it was possible to retreat from the frontline but in gaza nowhere was safe. reporting this war was “one of the biggest journalistic challenges any of us has faced”. jamie wilson, head of international news at the guardian, said: “this is a difficult issue for media organisations. we want to provide comprehensive reporting on the ground, but the situation in gaza is extremely dangerous. “nevertheless, this is a decision that news organisations should be weighing up for themselves, rather than having the israeli government denying access to international journalists.” in the 2008 9 war in gaza, which lasted three weeks, israel denied access to the territory to international journalists until a ceasefire was declared. in later conflicts in 2012 and 2014, media workers were allowed entry via the erez crossing. israeli journalists have been banned from entering gaza since hamas won elections in 2006.

full professor in journalism, dublin city university colleen murrell was the recipient of a grant from ireland's media regulator, coimisiún na meán, for researching and writing the reuters digital news report ireland (2020 24). dublin city university provides funding as a member of the conversation uk. view all partners the past year of conflict in gaza has been covered in the media with extraordinary bravery, mostly by local journalists. israeli authorities have not allowed the foreign press inside the occupied territory, apart from via short media trips embedded with the military. according to reporters without borders (rsf) more than 130 palestinian journalists have been killed by israeli forces. the rsf also asserts that 32 of them were targeted and it has filed four complaints with the international criminal court for war crimes. israel has used its powers to shackle what it sees as dissent by shutting down al jazeera’s offices in ramallah, nazareth and east jerusalem. in april the channel was taken off air inside israel. british media companies and correspondents have been vocal in calling for access to gaza, but to no avail. in july the committee to protect journalists (cpj) initiated a letter signed by 70 media companies and ngos urging israel to give journalists “independent access to gaza”. despite these challenges, the bbc, itn, channel 4 and sky, among others, have still managed to keep the story in front of uk viewers’ eyes by reporting from inside israel, the occupied territories and egypt. as the conflict expands into lebanon, the bbc has moved more of its middle east reporters to cover the conflict live from lebanon and northern israel. the reporting team has included syrian middle east correspondent, lina sinjab, and bbc bilingual correspondent, sally nabil, alongside the likes of senior international correspondent, orla guerin, and international editor, jeremy bowen. in recent years, bbc viewers have become familiar with such scenes of large teams presenting live from war zones. lyse doucet and clive myrie presented live for an extended period from a kyiv hotel rooftop following russia’s invasion of ukraine. it is effective, but costly and often dangerous. eventually the kyiv reporting team was scaled down, leaving behind just a couple of reporters in ukraine or nearby, bringing in more when events called for it. this will may well prove to be the case in beirut in a few weeks’ time. despite its impressive efforts to cover the current middle east conflict as closely as possible, the bbc has been subjected to accusations of bias from all sides. its correspondents’ words and interviewing techniques have come under heavy scrutiny. just one week after the hamas attack in october 2023, the bbc had already received 1,500 complaints about its coverage. this was reportedly “split almost evenly between those claiming its reporting has been biased against israel and those saying it was biased against palestinians”. in march, bbc director general, tim davie, and the director of editorial policy, david jordan, faced questioning before a house of commons select committee about its coverage. by this date, jordan said the number of complaints about coverage had grown to 8,000, and again were 50 50 in terms of bias for or against israel. during the hearing davie addressed a question about bbc arabic staff retweeting remarks seen as “essentially pro hamas”, according to conservative mp damian green. davie explained that: “some of those tweets that we’ve seen are unacceptable and we have taken action and we’ll continue to take action.” there have also been regular complaints about the bbc’s refusal to label perpetrators of violence as “terrorists” unless it is a quote from a source. the bbc has repeatedly explained its reasoning, which dates back to its founding principles, on not airing loaded language. in perhaps the most absurd of the complaints, olympics presenter hazel irvine was accused of a lack of impartiality and pro palestinian bias for mentioning the “dark shadow of conflict in gaza” as the palestinian team sailed down the seine during the opening ceremony. the bbc’s complaints unit dismissed the complaint, stating that “it was not a requirement of impartiality that the commentator’s remarks about the various teams should be precisely equivalent”. in the same week the board of deputies of british jews, the jewish leadership council and the community security trust accused the bbc in a report of being “institutionally hostile to israel”. while the bbc promised to examine the report, a bbc spokeswoman said: “the israel gaza conflict is a polarising and difficult story to cover and we understand there are a range of views. the bbc has focused on reporting the conflict impartially, bringing audiences breaking news, insight and analysis, and reflecting all perspectives.” as i have written before, the logistics of covering the front line of a conflict (in addition to the particular access challenges in gaza), make it impossible for the bbc to win this war of words. at times like this it tends to fall back on neutral language, fact checking and reporting carefully both sides of the divide. under its current bbc news ceo, deborah turness, it is attempting to be more transparent with audiences about its own coverage. this week turness accused critics of being stuck in echo chambers on social media. “bbc news does not and cannot reflect any single world view”, she said, adding: “in this war, we cannot be a place where any side feels that their perspective prevails.” smaller media companies and newspapers have also covered the conflict creditably despite the constrained circumstances. there has also been a heavy reliance on the global news agencies   reuters, ap and afp   who have continued to employ local journalists inside gaza as reporters and photographers. as the media’s focus switches from a long distance view of gaza to an expanding regional war involving iran, coverage will be stretched thin. even at the most peaceful of times there is highly limited access for journalists wishing to report from tehran. iran ranks at number 176 out of 180 countries on the rsf freedom index. its media is controlled by the government and there are many cases of dissenting journalists being jailed. as israel and iran battle to control the narrative, the task of journalists to report accurately and fully will remain crucial   but it won’t get any easier. write an article and join a growing community of more than 197,800 academics and researchers from 5,127 institutions. register now copyright © 2010 2025, the conversation us, inc.

david bauder, associated press david bauder, associated press leave your feedback new york (ap)   a limited number of journalists in gaza are trying to report on the war with israel while facing the same problems as the besieged palestinian population there   wondering where to live, where to get food and water, and how to stay safe. the aftermath of tuesday’s explosion that killed hundreds at a gaza city hospital is the latest example of how that reality hinders the world’s ability to get a full picture of what is happening to the palestinian population in gaza. outside journalists have been unable to enter gaza since the hamas attack in israel on oct. 7. the sole entry point for journalists, israel’s erez crossing, was attacked in the rampage and remains closed. a handful of news organizations had maintained a regular presence with bureaus there, including the associated press, the bbc, reuters, agence france presse and al jazeera, with a network of stringers helping others. read more: reuters journalist killed by israeli shelling on lebanon border that wounds 6 others israel’s order to palestinians to evacuate the northern part of gaza led journalists at ap and afp, for example, to abandon bureaus in gaza city and head south. “working in gaza right now is extremely difficult and that’s in large part because our staff are both covering the story and worrying about their own safety and the safety of their families,” said julie pace, executive editor and senior vice president of the associated press. ap staff stocked up on bottled water and other supplies before abandoning their gaza city bureau, which replaced an office destroyed by israeli bombs in 2021. even with power supplies limited, ap staff members have provided photos, video and other reporting each day since the war’s start, pace said. no such luck for a camera left behind on the bureau’s balcony that provided a live stream of the skyline; the generator likely ran out of fuel. the nine agence france presse journalists in gaza feel caught in a squeeze between wanting to work and also take care of their families, said phil chetwynd, global news director. managers are stressing the importance of safety first, he said. “this is a population that over the years has been used to fairly extreme situations, but i think they would all say that this is on a much, much bigger scale,” chetwynd said, referring to the previous four wars between israel and hamas. at least 19 journalists have been killed since the start of the war, 15 of them in gaza, the committee to protect journalists said wednesday. already, more journalists have been killed in gaza during the past two weeks than in the territory since 2001, said sherif mansour, cpj’s middle east and north africa coordinator. on cnn, journalist ibrahim dahman reported on the journey to find safety that he took with his wife and two sons, ages 7 and 11. one son plaintively asked when they found a room: “they don’t strike hotels, right?” “i feel intense fear,” dahman said. “i am worried about myself, my wife and my children.” ap photojournalist adel hana’s family fled to the central gaza town of deir al balah, below the evacuation line, to shelter in a cousin’s home near the local hospital. but a series of blasts rocked the building, killing at least seven family members and burying women and children in the rubble, he said. “it doesn’t make sense,” hana said. “we went to deir al balah because we thought we would be safe.” marwan al ghoul, working for cbs news, was similarly heading south with his family in gaza. when he came upon the aftermath of a bombing in a residential area, he got out to film scenes of bodies buried in rubble and crying children walking through the bombing site. the need to bear witness, the journalists said, came after a week of intense focus on the attacks in israel, where news media have been working freely. news organizations are conscious of the need to show that there is suffering on both sides. even with fewer news organizations operating in gaza, there is a rich journalism tradition there, said andrew roy, cbs news’ jerusalem bureau chief. with advances in technology, many people are able to tote cameras to noteworthy scenes, he said. that was the case after tuesday’s explosion at al ahli hospital. “you can often show people things that in the past you would not have been able to show,” roy said. even without a full time staff member in gaza, the new york times offered on its website wednesday a graphic that detailed the hospital grounds, an overhead still picture of the blast scene that showed burnt out cars and video that depicted the fiery aftermath of the explosion , taken at some distance through a fence. the times said it had independently verified the video’s accuracy. still, the material doesn’t replace professional journalists able to quickly reach the scene and interview people there. “eyewitness reporting is the best, being able to report what you see,” said luke baker, jerusalem bureau chief for reuters between 2014 2017. experienced journalists are also more apt to know sources they can depend upon for truthful information, he said. in the aftermath of the al ahli hospital explosion, journalists were left to sift through the competing finger pointing over which side was to blame. “the truth does matter,” rachel maddow said on msnbc’s overage. “it’s the only thing we have here.” in past gaza conflicts, the internet was a useful source of information and videos. but the spread of disinformation online this time has made it much less reliable, and verifying material that can be trusted is enormously time consuming, chetwynd said. as the story moves forward, news organizations are looking for ways to compensate for the barriers faced by journalists in gaza. the ap, for example, has assigned a team of arabic speaking journalists to conduct interviews and monitor online activity. for those left in gaza, pace said there’s a concern about when supplies are going to run out without reinforcements, including power. “it’s not constant and it’s not reliable,” she said. cpj’s mansour said that he hopes the united nations keeps the welfare of journalists on its agenda, including safe passage out of the country for those who need it. “the people who live in this place didn’t make the decision to live in a war zone,” chetwynd said. left: a member of the press is seen among the destroyed buildings and debris after the israeli airstrikes that has been going on for five days in khan yunis, gaza, oct. 11, 2023. photo by abed zagout/anadolu via getty images by najib jobain, samya kullab, ravi nessman, associated press by tara copp, lolita c. baldor, associated press by najib jobain, samya kullab, ravi nessman, associated press by amna nawaz, stephanie kotuby, morgan till, dan sagalyn david bauder, associated press david bauder, associated press support provided by: learn more thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. © 1996   2025 newshour productions llc. all rights reserved. pbs is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. sections about stay connected thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. learn more about friends of the news hour. support for news hour provided by

our mandate is to protect journalists in situations of conflict and repression. under international humanitarian law, journalists are civilians and should be treated as such by the warring parties. in recent years, the protection of civilians has been violated in most of the conflicts that emerged. in this conflict we see very problematic trends and exceptional violence appearing towards journalists and independent media that should concern everybody. in the gaza strip, the past weeks have been reported to be the deadliest weeks for journalists since international press freedom groups started documenting it. as reported by the committee to protect journalists, between 7 october 2023 and 11 february 2024, 85 journalists have been confirmed dead: 78 palestinian, 4 israeli, and 3 lebanese. in addition, 16 journalists have been reported injured, 4 journalists were reported missing and 25 journalists were reported arrested. on top of that, the premises of several media outlets in gaza have been struck. the headquarters of the local independent newspaper al ayyam, located in the palestine tower in gaza, was completely destroyed in an israeli strike targeting the building on 7 october and the gaza branch of ma’an was also damaged by a strike. all these killings and attacks need to be thoroughly investigated, we are distraught by reports that journalists were shot while reporting and several media outlets were hit by missile attacks. journalists are to be considered civilians during conflict, serving an essential public need for reliable and timely information. we know from the situation on the ground that journalists are lacking everything in terms of capacity to report, there is lack of power supply, lack of connectivity, lack of protective gear and like all other civilians, they are facing shortage of food and water supply. however, it is impossible to get anything in and out of gaza, let alone supplies for journalists at risk. free press unlimited supports a call for cease fire that all of the international human rights agencies at the level of the un and the international emergency response groups are asking for. journalists covering the recent violence are performing their duties under high pressure. israel is continuously bombing gaza, attacking not only hamas targets but also striking civilian targets. importantly, it is mainly local journalists performing these tasks but there are some international journalists on the ground as well. estimates published by the government press agency estimate that more than 2000 journalists have flocked to israel to cover this conflict. but they have no access to the gaza strip, as international journalists are prevented by israel from entering gaza through the main erez crossing. the courage of journalists in gaza that continue reporting is incredibly admirable. it is thanks to those local journalists that we are witnessing somewhat what is ongoing on the ground. that is why we call on both the dutch government and the international community to exert pressure on the parties to uphold their responsibility to protect journalists on the ground and allow them to continue to do their job to provide reliable information to the public. this also means ensuring access to communications infrastructure and supporting efforts to restore them. while journalists are doing their work, their family members are continually under attack. al jazeera journalist wael al dahdouh learned on air that his family had been killed by an airstrike, soon after moving them south of gaza city after an evacuation order by the israeli defence forces (idf). dahdouh’s family was reportedly sheltering in a refugee camp when a blast killed them. it shows the kind of personal sacrifice journalists are making in this conflict. in israel too, journalists face serious threats when asking critical questions about the large scale violence or expressing empathy or solidarity with the people of gaza. there are reports of journalists who are attacked by mobs, journalists that are assaulted by israeli police, and intimidated while reporting. we are also concerned about the ongoing pressure on journalists and media by israeli government measures. on october 16, israel proposed new emergency regulations that would allow it to halt media broadcasts if their output is seen to harm “national morale”. we fear that this rather vague and undefined new legal measure will be used to censor public debate in israel. the israeli government has already threatened to close al jazeera’s local offices under this proposed rule, and to block the global news outlet from freely reporting on the war. together with all other international press freedom organisations, we are united in saying israel should refrain from such actions. our colleagues from reporters sans frontieres (rsf) have made a preliminary report about the death of a reuters journalist in lebanon and conclude it is likely a targeted attack. this is a stark reminder of the death of shireen abu akleh, an al jazeera reporter who was killed by targeted fire of israeli soldiers in jenin, the westbank, according to several independent investigations including by bellingcat, forensic architecture and the washington post. since 2019, free press unlimited has worked to end impunity for journalist murder in its project “a safer world for the truth”. in many countries of the world, we found that investigations are often diluted by a lack of independence of investigations or a lack of specialized investigative capacity by authorities. this is why free press unlimited calls for independent, transparent and credible investigations in cases of journalist murders where local authorities are negligent in this regard. that should happen also in the case of the targeted journalists in this conflict. there is a popular saying that the first victim of any war is the truth. indeed in situations of war, massive propaganda efforts are taking place and the public should be aware of it. independent information provided by journalists is essential to understand what is happening, only through them does information come out that is not provided by either the israeli government or hamas. however, all kinds of methods are being used to restrict access to information in both the palestinian occupied territories as well as in israel. information becomes part of the warfare conducted by the parties. where there is a lack of independent journalism, citizens are dependent on divisive narratives or propaganda. furthermore, the lack of information creates chaos among people because they do not know what is happening, and it complicates the collection and dissemination of evidence, making it easier to evade accountability for human rights abuses. in gaza, the israeli government has deliberately cut off communication channels. on october 9th, the two main telecommunication providers in gaza were bombed, cutting off the civilian telecommunication infrastructure. in addition, other internet service providers were impacted by airstrikes, with damage to infrastructure causing widespread outages in both internet and telephone line access. on top of that, there are increasing electricity cut offs. this makes it increasingly difficult for journalists to do their job, and for citizens to access reliable information. or to even find out if their loved ones are still alive. in recent weeks, both the israeli government as well as hamas have started an information campaign to gain support where the unprecedented suffering of civilians in this conflict has been highlighted by both sides. over 100 journalists were invited by the idf to watch images of the hamas attack in israel and hamas is widely sharing images of victims of israeli bombing on their online channels; both are attempts to win the “narrative battle”. on top of this, we have seen a wide digital campaign of censorship, online harassment, doxxing and shadowbanning on social media. so far, social media companies have failed to address the alarming levels of disinformation and online violence on their platforms, which are contributing to offline violence, dehumanization, and justifying attacks against civilians. the media plays an important role in shaping our perceptions, and why our societies care about some crises and some victims more than others. we are especially witnessing this in the current events in israel and palestine. the media’s choice of words, and its decision to humanize one side above the other, to label one the aggressor and the other the victim, creates a divisive narrative. in some media coverage, palestinians “die” while israelis are “killed”. palestinians interviewed on us or british tv asked to condemn hamas, while israelis aren’t asked to account for their government’s crimes. rather than explaining the history of 75 years of occupation, israel's response is merely described as a retaliation or response to the hamas attack, or their right to defend themselves. increasingly, discussions are taking place within the media about framing and the language that is used. "so why is media coverage of israel and palestinians so asymmetrical? the truth is: palestinians are depicted as less deserving of our sympathy because they are seen as less than human." editorialises the new humanitarian. furthermore, editorials are more and more transparent about their policy and coverage. discussions within the media about ethics, formulation, and bias are essential. journalists and media have a responsibility to examine their framing, to recognise how narratives have a real impact. we call on the media and journalists to not shy away from these critical debates, and reiterate our call to journalists that when reporting on the ongoing events, journalists should strive to report the facts without polarizing the debate, instead ensuring that they are carefully choosing their wording, adding context and perspectives to stories, and not fueling hatred. we encourage the media to be transparent on editorial practice and choices and are happy that the media engage in explainers to help the public to better understand the dynamics of information and this conflict. since the launch of israel’s “military operation” in the west bank, and the trump’s administration decision to lift sanctions on israeli settlers in... israel's war in gaza is the deadliest for journalists ever. journalists in gaza have had to work under inhumane conditions for the past 15 months... multiple surveys distributed to palestinian journalists, conducted by arab reporters for investigative journalism (arij), reveal a shocking picture of... weesperstraat 31018 dn amsterdamt: +31 20 8000400e: info@freepressunlimited.org press requests: e: nauta@freepressunlimited.org t: +31 (0) 682091209iban: nl76 asnb 880 449 0071iban: nl92 ingb 000 000 7676

february 4, 2025 2:00 am est the israel gaza war has taken an unprecedented toll on gazan journalists since israel declared war on hamas following its attack on israel on october 7, 2023. as of february 7, 2025, cpj’s preliminary investigations showed at least 169 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in gaza, the west bank, israel, and lebanon since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since cpj began gathering data in 1992. journalists in gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating israeli airstrikes, famine, the displacement of 90% of gaza’s population, and the destruction of 80% of its buildings. cpj is investigating more than 130 additional cases of potential killings, arrests and injuries, but many are difficult to document amid these harsh conditions. “since the war in gaza started, journalists have been paying the highest price   their lives   for their reporting. without protection, equipment, international presence, communications, or food and water, they are still doing their crucial jobs to tell the world the truth,” said cpj program director carlos martinez de la serna in new york. “every time a journalist is killed, injured, arrested, or forced to go to exile, we lose fragments of the truth. those responsible for these casualties face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze.” journalists are civilians and are protected by international law. deliberately targeting civilians constitutes a war crime. in may, the international criminal court announced it was seeking arrest warrant applications for hamas and israeli leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. index to date, cpj has determined that at least 11 journalists and two media workers were directly targeted by israeli forces in killings which cpj classifies as murders: issam abdallah, hamza al dahdouh, mustafa thuraya, ismail al ghoul, rami al refee, ghassan najjar, wissam kassem, mohammed reda, ayman al gedi, faisal abu al qumsan, mohammed al ladaa, fadi hassouna, and ibrahim sheikh ali. cpj is still researching the details for confirmation in at least 20 other cases that indicate possible targeting. two journalists were killed and three were injured in gaza in the days surrounding the war’s one year anniversary on october 7, prompting cpj to renew its call for an end to impunity in israel’s attacks on journalists. as of february 7: cpj is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes. the list of killed journalists documented in our database includes names based on information obtained from cpj’s sources in the region and media reports. it includes all journalists* involved in news gathering activity. it is not always immediately clear whether all of these journalists were covering the conflict at the time of their deaths, but cpj has included them in its count as it investigates their circumstances. the list is being updated on a regular basis, with names being removed if cpj confirms that those members of the media were not working journalists at the time they were killed, injured, or went missing. israel defense forces (idf) officials have repeatedly told media outlets that the army does not deliberately target journalists. it also told agencies shortly after the war started that it could not guarantee the safety of journalists. cpj has called for an end to the longstanding pattern of impunity in cases of journalists killed by the idf. united nations experts have raised concerns over the killings of journalists, saying in a february statement that they were “alarmed at the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the occupied palestinian territory, particularly in gaza, in recent months blatantly disregarding international law.” cpj is aware that dozens of palestinian journalists were injured during the war. cpj counts the journalists cases it was able to document, and continues to investigate other cases. november 19, 2024 hossam shabat shabat, a 23 year old palestinian reporter and photographer for qatari based al jazeera mubasher, was injured on the evening of november 19, 2024, when an israeli airstrike hit a house in the al basra neighborhood in southern gaza, according to footage and reports by his outlet and shabat, who spoke to cpj. shabat told cpj he was on his way to report about a house, which israeli forces had previously bombed, with mohamed al masry, one of the channel’s camera operators. shabat said both journalists were wearing “press” vests and traveled in a car marked with press insignia. “we drove our car behind the civil defense vehicle to the site of the bombing. when we arrived and entered the house, we were surprised that it was targeted again and bombed by israeli warplanes,” shabat told cpj, adding that the strike killed one of the civil defense workers. shortly after the attack, shabat posted details on social media, saying he was “deliberately targeted by israeli forces.” shabat told cpj he believed the bombing could have been intentional and linked to accusations made by israel defense forces (idf). on october 23, the idf accused shabat and five other palestinian journalists working with al jazeera in gaza of being members of the militant groups hamas and islamic jihad. cpj has denounced and called for a halt to israel’s practice of making unsubstantiated allegations as a means of justifying its killing and wider mistreatment of journalists and media workers. shabat and al masry were treated for bruising on their backs at a hospital but were discharged due to the high number of injured people. mohamed al masry al masry, a 20 year old palestinian camera operator for qatari based al jazeera mubasher, was injured on the evening of november 19, 2024, when an israeli airstrike hit a local house in the al basra neighborhood in southern gaza, according to footage and reports by his outlet and hosaam shabat, a reporter and photographer for the outlet, who spoke to cpj. shabat told cpj that the pair were on their way to report about a house that israeli forces had previously bombed. shabat said both journalists were wearing “press” vests and traveled in a car marked with press insignia. “we drove our car behind the civil defense vehicle to the site of the bombing. when we arrived and entered the house, we were surprised that it was targeted again and bombed by israeli warplanes,” shabat told cpj, adding that the strike killed one of the civil defense workers. shortly after the attack, shabat posted details on social media and said he was “deliberately targeted by israeli forces.” shabat told cpj he believed the bombing could have been intentional and linked to accusations made by israel defense forces (idf). on october 23, the idf accused shabat and five other palestinian journalists working with al jazeera in gaza of being members of the militant groups hamas and islamic jihad. cpj has denounced and called for a halt to israel’s practice of making unsubstantiated allegations as a means of justifying its killing and wider mistreatment of journalists and media workers. shabat and al masry were treated for bruising on their backs at a hospital but were discharged due to the high number of injured people. november 5, 2024 rabie al munir al munir, a palestinian camera operator for the qatari funded al araby tv, was shot in the abdomen while reporting on an israeli military operation in qabatiya, south of the west bank city of jenin, according to media reports. video footage showed al munir being treated in jenin’s ibn sina hospital. al araby tv reporter and witness ameed shehade told the local online outlet al jarmaq news that the journalists were visible to the nearby israeli soldiers who “fired directly at us.” al munir was wearing his “press” vest, which reduced the severity of the injury, and his condition was stable, he added. previously, on may 6, shehade and al munir were shot at by israeli soldiers while covering an operation in the west bank city of tulkarem. october 31, 2024 talal al arrouqi al arrouqi, a 31 year old palestinian correspondent for the privately owned qatari based broadcaster al jazeera mubasher, was injured by an israeli airstrike on nuseirat refugee camp in central gaza, according to the beirut based press freedom group skeyes and the journalist, who spoke to cpj. the privately owned al ghad tv correspondent mahmoud al louh was injured in the same strike. al arrouqi told cpj that “at around 8:30 p.m. on thursday, israeli airstrikes targeted three homes in the area north of nuseirat camp in central gaza … i went with the ambulance to cover the incident with my colleague mahmoud al louh. “when we arrived at the site, the situation was difficult due to the bombing and the lack of electricity. residents were pulling out the dead and wounded. minutes later, israeli airstrikes targeted another home next to the three targeted homes, which resulted in the injury of my right foot, as a result of flying stones and shattered glass, as well as bruises all over my body because the force of the explosion threw me to another place.” al arrouqi said that after about 15 minutes of being trapped under the debris, he was transferred to al awda hospital but soon left because it was overwhelmed by an influx of dozens of dead and injured patients. he did not seek further medical treatment. al arrouqi is one of six al jazeera journalists accused by the idf of being members of militant groups. al jazeera and cpj condemned the allegations as unfounded. mahmoud al louh al louh, a 34 year old palestinian correspondent with privately owned al ghad tv was injured by an israeli airstrike on nuseirat refugee camp in central gaza, according to the beirut based press freedom group skeyes and the journalist who spoke to cpj. talal al arrouqi, correspondent for the privately owned qatari based broadcaster al jazeera mubasher, was injured in the same strike. “i was injured as a result of the shelling that occurred while i was reporting, with bruises all over my body,” al louh told cpj, adding that he sought treatment at al awda hospital but quickly left as it was full of casualties from the strike. october 25, 2024 hassan hoteit hoteit, a lebanese camera operator for the media production company isol, told cpj that his hip was broken when an israeli airstrike hit a compound housing 18 journalists in south lebanon’s hasbaya area. two other journalists were injured and three were killed in the attack, which lebanon described as a “war crime.” hoteit told cpj that he received surgery in the capital beirut, was hospitalized for a week, and required bed rest for a month. zakaria fadel fadel, a lebanese assistant camera operator for the media production company isol, told cpj that he was injured, without providing further details, when an israeli airstrike hit a compound housing 18 journalists in south lebanon’s hasbaya area. two other journalists were injured and three were killed in the attack, which lebanon described as a “war crime.” ali mortada mortada, a lebanese camera operator for the qatari owned broadcaster al jazeera, told cpj that his shoulder was broken when an israeli airstrike hit a compound housing 18 journalists in south lebanon’s hasbaya area. two other journalists were injured and three were killed in the attack, which lebanon described as a “war crime.” october 14, 2024 safenaz al louh al louh, a 33 year old palestinian journalist who freelances with multiple outlets including the gaza based al elamya news and the qatari owned broadcaster al jazeera mubasher, was injured when israeli airstrikes hit tents for displaced people in the al aqsa martyrs hospital, in deir al balah in central gaza. the airstrike caused a huge fire, killing at least four people. “at around 2 a.m., we were surprised by israeli warplanes bombing the tents of displaced people inside the al aqsa martyrs hospital,” al louh told cpj. “as a result of the presence of cooking gas cylinders used by the displaced inside their tents, the bombing led to their explosion and the flames engulfed more than 30 tents.” “i suffered burns to my left hand and foot while i was filming the event as the gas cylinders exploded,” said al louh, who received treatment at the hospital. despite her injury, al louhh has continued to report from gaza with her left hand in a bandage. she has given numerous interviews from gaza during the war, including for egyptian public broadcaster etc tv and ramallah based basma radio. october 9, 2024 tamer lubbad lubbad, a 37 year old palestinian correspondent for the hamas owned al aqsa tv, was injured when an israeli drone strike landed near him and his colleague mohammed al tanani as they were covering an israeli siege on jabalia refugee camp in northern gaza. camera operator al tanani was killed. both men were wearing “press” vests and helmets and were clearly identifiable as journalists, according to video footage and lubbad, who spoke to cpj. “we went to monitor and cover the situation after we learned that the israeli occupation forces are besieging the jabalia camp and its residents,” lubbad told cpj via messaging app. “we reached the closest area to the camp   and the area was not dangerous   where we did a report. after finishing it and as we were leaving the area at about 4:30 p.m., a drone fired missiles that hit mohammed directly, which immediately killed him.” “the missile cut through his lower half and i was hit by shrapnel behind my left shoulder and shrapnel next to my colon,” he said, adding that it took two hours for the ambulance to arrive because of “repeated and deliberate” gunfire from israeli forces. “i received first aid in the ambulance. and at the general service hospital in gaza city, an operation was performed to extract the shrapnel and i am staying there to complete the treatment,” he said. fadi al wahidi al wahidi, a palestinian camera operator for the qatari owned broadcaster al jazeera was critically injured in the neck by a bullet fired from an israeli reconnaissance aircraft while al wahidi and correspondent anas al sharif were covering an israeli siege on northern gaza’s jabalia refugee camp. both men were wearing “press” vests and clearly identifiable as journalists. “i was with my colleague, cameraman fadi al wahidi, at the end of al jalaa street, north of gaza city, where we were in an area completely far from the areas of operations of the israeli occupation forces. we had with us the external live broadcast vehicle to transmit the news,” al sharif told cpj via phone from gaza city. “the place was originally full of residents. suddenly, while we were filming the events and after we had also finished a live segment on the channel, an israeli reconnaissance drone fired at us.” “after the shooting, we tried to move to another safer place and hide from any danger, but a bullet from the plane hit our colleague fadi al wahidi in the neck, which led to his complete paralysis. he is now lying in the al ahli hospital in a very critical condition, and in urgent need of travel for treatment outside the gaza strip to receive medical care.” “this incident marks yet another grave violation against journalists in gaza, where israeli forces have been increasingly hostile toward media workers,” al jazeera said. “the deliberate targeting of journalists is a flagrant violation of international laws protecting the press and humanitarian workers in war zones.” october 7, 2024 ali al attar al attar, a 27 year old palestinian journalist and al jazeera arabic camera operator, was severely injured when an israeli airstrike hit a tent for displaced people in front of al aqsa martyrs hospital in deir al balah in central gaza, according to al jazeera and al attar’s cousin ahmed maqat, who spoke to cpj. al jazeera posted a video showing al attar being helped up from his bed and given first aid after some of the shrapnel from the 3 a.m. strike landed on a tent for al jazeera reporters. “ali was immediately admitted to the al aqsa martyrs hospital, and then transferred to the intensive care unit at the gaza european hospital south of khan yunis. he did not undergo any surgery because he is suffering from internal bleeding and he is still in a semi coma,” maqat told cpj. al jazeera said on wednesday that pieces of shrapnel pierced al attar’s skull, causing bleeding that resulted in a coma, and that his condition was deteriorating. medics in gaza were unable to treat him due to the lack of medical resources amid the ongoing war. al attar’s colleagues have called on the international community to facilitate his evacuation in order to save his life. september 3, 2024 mohammad mansour and ayman al nubani mohammad mansour, a palestinian photographer with the palestinian authority’s official news agency wafa, was shot in the left arm while covering an israeli military operation in the palestinian village of kafr dan, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of the west bank city of jenin. video footage of the incident shows that mansour was driving a car marked “press” and wearing a protective vest marked “press.” ayman al nubani, a wafa photographer, was hit by shrapnel in his left arm in the same incident. he told the palestinian journalists’ syndicate that israeli forces used live gunfire against seven journalists in “press” vests riding in three “press” cars. “we narrowly escaped death. had we not sped up a little, they would have killed us. it was a direct assassination attempt,” he was quoted as saying, adding that the israeli soldiers “started shooting at us directly.” al nubani said that israeli forces obstructed the ambulances that were taking the injured to jenin’s ibn sina hospital and forces surrounding the hospital questioned them. august 26, 2024 mohammed al za’anin al za’anin, a 40 year old palestinian journalist who works as a camera operator for the turkish owned trt arabic broadcaster, was injured when shrapnel from a missile struck his left eye after an israeli strike on a house next to the trt temporary office located in khan yunis, south of the gaza strip. al za’anin’s assistant, mohammed karajah, was also injured in the incident, according to multiple media reports and the journalist, who spoke to cpj. the office is currently located in a warehouse facing nasser hospital in khan yunis. al za’anin has been a camera operator and a photographer for 19 years. he was on assignment in the south of the gaza strip in the early days of the war and remained there as a displaced person when the war unfolded. “we were near nasser hospital when an israeli warplane struck near us,” al za’nin told cpj by phone. “i was injured by shrapnel that penetrated my left eye and has not yet come out, and my assistant, mohammed karajah, was injured by shrapnel in his left leg. the doctors were able to remove it and he left the hospital.” al za’anin said that he walked on foot after his injury to nasser hospital because of its proximity to the office, and that he is still being treated there after undergoing surgery, but told cpj he needs an operation outside gaza to extract the shrapnel due to the lack of capabilities in the strip. the turkish foreign ministry posted on x about the incident, saying “the attacks on trt members in gaza are an israeli effort to cover up the truth, with its hands stained with blood. we stand with all members of the press who are working with all their might to make israel’s cruelty known to the world. we extend our best wishes to the trt members and the trt family who were injured in the latest attack.” mohammed karajah karajah, a  32 year old palestinian media worker who works as an assistant photographer for the turkish owned trt arabic broadcaster was injured by shrapnel from israeli missiles when an israeli airstrike hit a nearby house to the trt temporary office located in khan yunis, south of the gaza strip, according to multiple media reports and his colleague mohammed al za’anin, who was also injured and spoke to cpj. “we were near nasser hospital when an israeli warplane struck near us,” al za’nin told cpj by phone. “i was injured by shrapnel that penetrated my left eye and has not yet come out, and my assistant, mohammed karajah, was injured by shrapnel in his left leg. the doctors were able to remove it and he left the hospital.” karajah was displaced from the bureij palestinian refugee camp east of the central gaza strip to the neighboring city of deir al balah. the turkish foreign ministry posted on x about the incident, saying “the attacks on trt members in gaza are an israeli effort to cover up the truth, with its hands stained with blood. we stand with all members of the press who are working with all their might to make israel’s cruelty known to the world. we extend our best wishes to the trt members and the trt family who were injured in the latest attack.” august 18, 2024 salma al qaddoumi al qaddoumi, a freelance palestinian journalist, who works with multiple outlets including the turkish state owned anadolu agency, al jazeera, and afp news agency, was injured when an israeli tank fired towards a group of journalists reporting in the hamad city area, northwest of khan yunis in southern gaza, according to news reports. freelance journalist ibrahim muhareb was also killed in the incident. the palestinian journalists’ syndicate posted a description by journalist rasha ahmed of the incident. ahmed said she was one of five journalists on assignment together when a military tank suddenly advanced from the al hawz area in the northwestern part of hamad city and opened heavy fire on them. some reporters lay on the ground for more than five minutes due to the intense gunfire, until they were “miraculously” able to get out. al qaddoumi also tried to run, unaware that her back was injured, but fell to the ground. ahmed and another journalist saeed al lulu rescued al qaddoumi and found a cart and then a car to transport her to hospital, the pjs report said. on august 19, al qaddoumi told cpj by phone that the group of journalists reported from “a place far from the presence of tanks” but “a number of tanks suddenly appeared in the area after filming had ended.” “the tanks fired shells and bullets at us, and ibrahim was hit directly. he asked me to help him leave the place, and i went with one of the displaced people in the area to rescue him, but the tanks fired more shells and bullets at us. at that moment, i was hit in the back by two (pieces of) shrapnel, either from the shells or the bullets. i then lost consciousness and found myself in the hospital,” she told cpj. sami barhoom barhoom, a palestinian correspondent for the turkish state owned broadcaster trt arabic was injured by shrapnel from israeli sniper bullets when he and a colleague were reporting in southern gaza, according to news reports and the palestinian journalists’ syndicate. “i was on a field mission to prepare a report with camera operator hazem al baz about the cemeteries being full and the lack of graves to accommodate the martyrs in the austrian neighborhood northwest of khan yunis,” barhoom told cpj by phone. “we finished and headed to another mission near hamad city, west of khan yunis, at exactly 2:00 p.m.” “although the car was marked “press” and “tv” and we were (both) wearing a “press” jacket and helmet, we were surprised by direct fire on our car … the first shot hit the right door of the car, so i knew it was a targeted attack because the gunfire was hitting the sand very heavily,” he said, referring to the desert sand they were driving over. “we tried to get out of the car to hide, but as soon as we tried to get out of it, the bullets hit the front window of the car at the level of our heads, and it was clear that the target was to kill,” he said. barhoom said the pair managed to get out of the car, which was hit by five bullets, and took cover in a nearby shelter for an hour until it was safe to leave. in april, barhoom was one of four journalists injured by israeli shelling while reporting in nuseirat refugee camp in central gaza. his trt arabic colleague sami shehadeh lost a leg in the incident. may 21, 2024 amro manasrah manasrah, a freelance photographer working with the local palestine post outlet and the regional hezbollah affiliated al mayadeen broadcaster, was hit in the back by an israeli bullet that ricocheted off the wall next to him as he and other journalists were reporting on an israeli operation in the west bank city of jenin, according to palestine post, al jazeera, and the journalist, who spoke to cpj. manasrah, who was wearing a press vest, told cpj via phone call after he was hospitalized, that the bullet hit a wall next to him and ricocheted, hitting him in the back. manasrah said that only journalists were in the area and were visible to idf soldiers. manasrah was later released from the hospital on the same day. journalist obada tahayneh, a freelance reporter for qatari owned al jazeera mubasher who was at the scene, told cpj over the phone that “there were approximately 20 journalists present at the scene, only 150 meters away from idf soldiers. seven of us moved towards the nearby hospital, when we heard shots fired. we ran and hid next to a wall, and shortly after i saw manasrah on the ground.” tahayneh added that he is still “in shock” from being so close to the shooting and witnessing manasrah’s injury. april 12, 2024 sami shehadeh, cameraman, trt arabic injured by an israeli shell while reporting in the nuseirat refugee camp in central gaza, which led to the loss of his right leg. sami barhoom, trt arabic reporter, injured by an israeli shell while reporting in the nuseirat refugee camp in central gaza. ahmad harb was on duty for al arabiya tv at the time of the incident and was injured by the israeli shell. cnn stringer mohammad al sawalhi was struck by shrapnel, resulting in a slight injury to his right hand and bruising on his left leg. march 31, 2024 freelance photojournalist ali hamad, whose back was hit with missile shrapnel in an attack on al aqsa hospital. freelance photojournalist saeed jars, whose knee was hit by shrapnel in an attack on al aqsa hospital. freelance photojournalist naaman shteiwi suffered minor facial injuries in an attack on al aqsa hospital. zain media cameraperson mohammed abu dahrouj was seriously injured in the leg in an attack on al aqsa hospital. freelance photojournalist nafez abu labda suffered a leg injury in an attack on al aqsa hospital. al aqsa photographer ibrahim labad suffered leg injuries in an attack on al aqsa hospital. al jazeera photographer hazem mazeed, who suffered leg injuries in an attack on al aqsa hospital. freelance photojournalist magdi qaraqea was also injured in the attack in an attack on al aqsa hospital, according to cpj sources. those sources did not specify his injuries. january 7, 2024 hazem rajab, injured by the same strike that killed mustafa thuraya and hamza al dahdouh on january 7, 2024. amer abu amr, injured in an israeli strike on january 7, 2024, several minutes before the one that killed thuraya and al dahdouh. ahmed al bursh, injured in an israeli strike on january 7, 2024, several minutes before the one that killed thuraya and al dahdouh. december 23, 2023 khader marquez marquez, a cameraman for lebanon’s hezbollah owned tv channel al manar was injured after shrapnel from an israeli missile hit his car on the khardali road of south lebanon, injuring his left eye, according to al manar correspondent ali shoeib, who was with marquez, posted about the incident on social media, and spoke to the privately owned beirut based al jadeed tv. the incident also was reported by the privately owned lebanese annahar newspaper, the beirut based press freedom group skeyes, the national news agency, and multiple news reports. december 19, 2023 islam bader bader, a palestinian reporter and presenter for the hamas funded al aqsa tv channel, and a contributor to multiple media outlets including the qatari funded al araby tv, was injured in the right shoulder and hip in an israeli airstrike on block 2 of the jabalia refugee camp, northern gaza, on december 19, according to the london based pan arab newspaper asharq al awsat, al araby tv, and palestine tv. his colleague mohamed ahmed was injured in the same strike. a video posted by al jazeera shows the two journalists being treated in jabalia medical center after the attack. another video posted by the local palestine post website shows bader and ahmed lying on the floor of the medical center frowning in pain. bader told al araby tv that he was injured by three pieces of shrapnel in his shoulder, and hip. bader and ahmed are among the few journalists still reporting from northern gaza. mohamed ahmed ahmed, a palestinian reporter for the pro hamas shehab agency and photographer for the hamas funded al aqsa tv channel, was injured in the left thigh in an israeli airstrike on block 2 of jabalia refugee camp, northern gaza, on december 19, according to the london based pan arab newspaper asharq al awsat, al araby tv, and palestine tv. his colleague islam bader was injured in the same strike. a video posted by al jazeera shows the two journalists being treated in jabalia medical center right after their injury. another video posted by the local palestine post website shows bader and ahmed lying on the floor of the medical center frowning in pain. december 16, 2023 mohamed balousha balousha, a reporter for the emirati owned dubai based al mashahd tv, was shot in the thigh while reporting on the war from northern gaza on december 16, 2023. according to his outlet al mashhad, al jazeera, and the palestinian journalists’ syndicate, the bullet was fired by an israeli sniper. balousha said in a video about his injury that he lost consciousness for about 30 minutes after “six hours of agony” and was roused by the nuzzling of cats he was feeding before the shooting. al mashhad said that israeli forces intercepted the ambulances sent to evacuate him, delaying his transfer to a hospital for treatment.in late november, balousha broke a story that four premature babies left behind at al nasr children’s hospital died and their bodies had decomposed after israel forced the staff to evacuate without ambulances. balousha accused israel of directly targeting him. “i was wearing everything to prove that i was a journalist, but they deliberately targeted me, and now i am struggling to get the treatment necessary to preserve my life,” he told the washington post. december 15, 2023 wael al dahdouh the gaza bureau chief for al jazeera, al dahdouh was injured by a drone strike while covering the aftermath of nightly israeli strikes on a un school sheltering displaced people in the center of khan yunis, southern gaza, according to reports by their al jazeera, middle east eye, and reuters. dahdoh was hit with shrapnel in his hand and waist and treated at nasser hospital in khan yunis. his colleague, camera operator samer abu daqqa, was killed in the same strike. mustafa alkharouf alkharouf, a photographer with the turkish state owned anadolu agency, was covering friday prayers near al aqsa mosque in east jerusalem on december 15 when a group of israeli police and soldiers attacked him, according to anadolu agency, footage shared by the union of journalists in israel, and the palestinian authority’s official news agency wafa. soldiers initially brandished their weapons at alkharouf, punched him, and then threw him to the ground, kicking him. alkharouf sustained severe blows, resulting in injuries to his face and body, and was transported by ambulance and treated at makassed hospital in east jerusalem. november 18, 2023 mohamed al sawaf mohamed al sawaf, an award winning palestinian film producer and director who founded the gaza based alef multimedia production company, was injured in an israeli airstrike on his home in shawa square in gaza city. the airstrike killed 30 members of his family, including his mother and his father, mostafa al sawaf, who was also a journalist, according to the palestinian journalists’ syndicate, anadolu agency, and trt arabic. montaser al sawaf montaser al sawaf, a palestinian freelance photographer contributing to anadolu agency, was injured in the same israeli airstrike that injured his brother, mohamed al sawaf and killed their parents and 28 other family members, according to the anadolu agency, the palestinian journalists’ syndicate, and trt arabic. november 13, 2023 issam mawassi al jazeera videographer mawassi was injured after two israeli missiles struck near journalists in yaroun in southern lebanon covering clashes, which also resulted in damage to the journalists’ cars in the area, according to multiple media reports, some of which show the journalists live on air the minute the second missile hit the area. cpj reached out to mawassi via a messaging app but didn’t receive any response. october 13, 2023 thaer al sudanial sudani, a journalist for reuters, was injured in the same attack that killed abdallah near the border in southern lebanon, reuters said.maher nazehnazeh, a journalist for reuters, was also injured in the same southern lebanon attack.elie brakhya brakhya, an al jazeera tv staff member, was injured as well in the southern lebanon shelling, al jazeera tv said.carmen joukhadarjoukhadar, an al jazeera tv reporter, was also wounded in the southern lebanon attack.christina assi assi, a photographer for the french news agency agence france press (afp), was injured in that same attack on southern lebanon, according to afp and france 24.dylan collins dylan collins, a video journalist for afp, was also injured in the southern lebanon shelling. october 7, 2023 ibrahim qanan qanan, a correspondent for al ghad channel, was injured by shrapnel in the city of khan yunis in the southern gaza strip, according to mada and jsc. as we continue to monitor the war in israel/gaza, journalists who have questions about their safety and security can contact us [email protected]. for more information, read: these are available in multiple languages, including arabic. october 7, 2023 nidal al wahidi nidal al wahidi, a cameraman and photographer in gaza for the nablus based palestinian broadcaster an najah nbc channel, went missing near the erez crossing, known in gaza as the beit hanoun crossing, while reporting on hamas’ attack on israel on october 7, 2023 according to news reports, the palestinian press freedom organization mada, and a video interview with his father, suhail al wahidi, on qatari owned broadcaster al jazeera mubasher. on assignment? yes haitham abdelwahid haitham abdelwahid, a cameraman and video editor for ain media, a gaza production company, went missing near the erez crossing, known locally as the beit hanoun crossing, while reporting on hamas’ attack on israel on october 7, 2023, according to news reports, his employer, and the palestinian press freedom organization mada. on assignment? yes clarifications and corrections: *definition of a journalist: cpj’s research and documentation covers all journalists, defined as individuals involved in news gathering activity. this definition covers those working for a broad range of publicly and privately funded news outlets, as well as freelancers. in the cases cpj has documented, multiple sources have found no evidence to date that any journalist was engaged in militant activity. cpj’s global database of killed journalists and media workers includes only those confirmed to have been killed in connection with their work or where it is unclear whether their death was work related (motive unconfirmed.) our research is ongoing and we remove names from our list if we determine that a person either was incorrectly identified as a journalist or could not have been working at the time of their death. cpj has removed a palestinian man, mohamed khaireddine, from its database. khaireddine was previously identified as a journalist, but his family later clarified that he was neither a journalist nor a media support worker. cpj has removed six other palestinian journalists from its database that were found not to be journalists or media workers: bahaa okasha, salma mkhaimar, ahmed fatima, mohamed al jaja, assaad shamallakh, and mohamed fayez abu matar. cpj has removed two israeli journalists, shai regev and ayelet arnin, from its database after their outlets confirmed that the journalists were not on assignment to cover the music festival, nor were they in a position to begin reporting on the attack by hamas militants that killed them on october 7. cpj’s global database of killed journalists includes only those who have been killed in connection with their work or where there is still some doubt that their death was work related. after receiving reports that palestinian journalist and presenter alaa taher al hassanat may have survived the attack thought to have killed her, cpj has removed her name from its database pending further investigation. on february 6, 2024, canadian palestinian journalist mansour shouman was found alive after being reported missing more than two weeks before. we have removed him from our list of missing journalists. according to cpj’s research, israeli journalist oded lifschitz wasn’t working when he was taken as a hostage by hamas on october 7, 2023. cpj removed his name from the list of missing journalists after contacting the family. this text has been updated to add detail about the funding of al aqsa tv channel and the editorial stance of shehab agency. cpj is a 501(c)3 non profit. our ein is 13 3081500. committee to protect journalists the john s. and james l. knight foundation press freedom center p.o. box 2675 new york, ny 10108 tel 212 465 1004 fax 212 214 0640 [email protected] except where noted, text on this website is licensed under a creative commons attribution noncommercial noderivatives 4.0 international license. images and other media are not covered by the creative commons license. for more information about permissions, see our faqs.

unlike countries like russia and syria, israel claims to be a liberal democracy. but in gaza, which israel closed off to journalists since the start of the war, reporters are left having to rely on social media, phone interviews, satellite photography, local journalists or entering with a military detail. 'it's sometimes like trying to report from space,' says one peter beaumont has been in his share of war zones; iraq, afghanistan and kosovo are just a few. but when he wanted to cover the current gaza war, he encountered another difficulty: covering a war without being there.

scott simon npr's scott simon speaks to sherif mansour, middle east and north africa program coordinator at the committee to protect journalists, about the difficulties in reporting in gaza scott simon, host: over a month into the war in the gaza strip, international news organizations have little, if any, access to gaza. israel, which is bombing gaza in response to the deadly hamas attack on its soil, controls access. and with the exception of brief tours with a limited number of reporters, israel has not been granting journalists access to the region. the conflict has been deadly for those trying to report it. roughly 40 have been killed so far. four were israeli, one from lebanon, the rest palestinian. this leaves much of the outside world with limited access to news from gaza and the approximately 2 million people who live there. sherif mansour is the middle east and north africa program coordinator at the committee to protect journalists. he joins us now. mr. mansour, thanks for being with us. sherif mansour: thank you for having me, scott. simon: what do you hear from local reporters who are working in gaza about the conditions under which they're reporting? mansour: well, this is the most dangerous month or so we've seen over the course of three decades when we documented journalists killing anywhere else also around the world. palestinian journalists are facing outsized challenge and risk. they were forced to flee after seeing colleagues killed, media facilities bombed and their own homes and their families as well. simon: and in addition to all of that, it's hard to get the story out, isn't it? mansour: it has been difficult to get electricity, to get in an internet connection. they are struggling to even survive, finding food or water right now. and once the israeli army bombed communication towers, we almost reached a news blackout several times. and it has been consistent now three times when international media even cannot reach their own journalists or the freelancers. in addition to other harassment and assaults on journalists covering from the west bank and from within israel unprecedented level, we have documented at least 13 journalists who are also been arrested in the west bank, in addition to outright censorship by the passing legislation in israel. based on vague, harming national morale charges, they can put someone in jail for up to one year right now. simon: i have to ask, is hamas welcoming to journalists? mansour: no. in addition to access problems from the israeli side, of course, hamas have enforced its censorship regime within gaza. for the first time, this war that we have documented israeli journalists being killed by hamas fighters, four of them who were killed in southern israel on october 7 in unprecedented assault. simon: the committee to protect journalists has called for the protection of journalists working in gaza. and i say this with respect   is that really possible? mansour: i think the numbers tell the story of the exponential risk. and we're talking here about unprecedented bombardment in addition to other factors that makes this more deadly. but we at the committee, we also try and spread information about safety guidelines. we understand that they may not have that possibility or they are already there near combat situation. simon: i believe the israeli forces say they have an obligation to review footage and stories so that operational plans aren't revealed. what do you think of that? mansour: well, we've seen similar restrictions, but i think the most alarming is when the israeli government and the israeli army said to reuters, afp and international media that they cannot guarantee the safety of their employees. and of course, journalists are civilian, and they are protected under international law. no international journalists or a media outlet would risk having an headquarter after seeing media facilities bombed. simon: why is it important for the world to hear what's going on now? mansour: i think we rely on journalists to have critical, timely information, because otherwise we are left with a sea of dis  and misinformation that can only fuel the conflict. simon: sherif mansour is the middle east and north africa program coordinator at the committee to protect journalists. thank you so much for speaking to us. mansour: thank you for having me, scott. simon: and for more coverage and for differing views and analysis of the conflict, you can go to npr.org/mideastupdates. copyright © 2023 npr. all rights reserved. visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. npr transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an npr contractor. this text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. accuracy and availability may vary. the authoritative record of npr’s programming is the audio record. sponsor message become an npr sponsor

reporting in gaza has become nearly impossible with limited access to power, internet, and basics like food and water. on may 29, the palestinian journalists’ syndicate (pjs), a labor union for palestinian media workers, unveiled a monument commemorating the 100th anniversary of the union’s founding, while also memorializing its members. israeli forces have killed thousands of palestinian journalists since 1967 when israel invaded east jerusalem, the west bank and the gaza strip, all internationally recognized palestinian territories. the occasion was both inspiring and tragic: while the memorial was unveiled in ramallah in the west bank, the israeli genocide in gaza continued. the nearly nine month israeli assault has killed more than 38,000 palestinians, including 15,000 children, according to al jazeera at the time of this writing. per pjs, at least 135 of the dead were journalists or media workers. in the face of both the ongoing israeli genocide and restrictions on international media, pjs and the international federation of journalists (ifj) have been supporting palestinian reporters in gaza, who are the only ones in the enclave able to cover the israeli crimes against their communities and themselves. as the scale of destruction wrought by the israeli military has grown, pjs and ifj have pivoted from providing professional resources to humanitarian aid to mobile press centers to aid journalists in continuing to report in spite of the near total destruction of newsrooms in gaza. since the october 7 attacks by palestinian militants on israel, the israeli government has curtailed practically all international access to the gaza strip. as a result, palestinian journalists in gaza are the only ones able to report on the israeli response since october 7, which has escalated from a blockade of food, water and medicine, to indiscriminate bombings of homes and civil infrastructure, to a ground invasion from north to south. living the events they are covering, palestinian journalists face the same circumstances as other civilians, including homelessness, starvation and death. “we have lost, up to now, 135 journalists and media workers, who formed more than 10 percent of the journalists in gaza,” rania khayyat, communications officer for the pjs, told truthout. “on the other hand, the journalists in gaza are not only facing killing, they are facing arrest, they are facing losing their families, they’re facing siege, they’re facing displacement, they’re facing working in very hard conditions. and as you know, no international journalists are allowed into gaza, so they are the only ones who can report within those very hard conditions.” those journalists who have not lost their lives have had to face the loss of their livelihoods. pjs has documented the destruction of more than 80 press institutions in gaza by the israeli military since october 7. pjs itself was forced to abandon its branch in gaza, as well as its headquarters in east jerusalem, for the relative safety of ramallah in the west bank, where khayyat is based. the pjs office in gaza now serves as a shelter for displaced families. “currently, the working and living conditions of journalists in the gaza strip are the worst the ifj has ever experienced,” monir zaarour, ifj’s director of policy and programming in the middle east, told truthout. “the scale of human loss is hard to comprehend. journalists have lost their lives alongside their entire families. others have lost families or been injured. the destruction of homes and workplaces is without precedent.” zaarour said there are zero functional newsrooms remaining in the gaza strip. “power and internet are available periodically, but even when [they are] available, most cannot afford to pay. the ones who are determined to work are clustered around hospitals or relief centers to get power and internet. these places have been one of the main targets of israeli army attacks, and on several occasions, journalists have been hurt in these attacks.” ifj, a federation of labor unions for journalists from around the world, including pjs, has been collecting funds to provide reporters in gaza with basic humanitarian aid and recently announced a new effort to establish mobile press centers throughout the strip. modeled on previous efforts in pakistan and ukraine, the centers consist of two to three conjoined tents housing workstations for up to a dozen journalists, equipped with laptops, power sources and internet connections. the centers will be staffed by pjs managers with it support, security and consulting from ifj. once a permanent ceasefire is declared, the centers will be moved into permanent homes, but until then, they are meant to be mobile, moving with the tides of the war. “we’ve just started working on equipping the first center in the city of khan younis, which has been made possible through donations,” he continued. “we are trying to raise more funds to launch at least three such centers: in gaza city, the central gaza strip and rafah.” as zaarour explained, the cost of equipping and staffing such mobile press centers varies depending on the availability of resources, and the dire conditions in gaza have made the khan younis center the most expensive one set up by the ifj, at around $85,000 for the first year. he also noted that, without a ceasefire and loosening of the israeli blockade, setting up the additional centers may cost even more. besides financing, the primary challenge to establishing the press centers is safety. in the hopes of avoiding any military entanglements, ifj will be sharing the centers’ coordinates with both israeli and united nations authorities, as has been their practice in other conflicts in the past. “we’ve been analyzing the patterns and circumstances of israeli attacks that resulted in journalists in gaza being killed,” said zaarour. “we believe that the media solidarity centers will help reduce risks to journalists, especially in accessing media infrastructure without risking being killed through ‘collateral damage’ or ‘misidentifications.’” still, fears abound in providing the israelis with information about journalists’ whereabouts. “there is always fear,” shuruq asad, a jerusalem based member of pjs’s general secretariat, told truthout. “but we really want to provide the journalists with what they need, and the main thing is to help with their protection, to help them to not be harmed, not to lose their lives. providing the coordinates   this is usually what press people do, and humanitarians, doctors, and so on. so this is one of the responsibilities for us.” “there’s no stability in gaza, no protection for journalists,” she continued. “you’re under military orders, israeli military orders, and they think they have the right to do anything.” mobile press centers are only the latest initiative between pjs and ifj to support journalists in the gaza strip. shortly after october 7, when israeli forces first began their bombardment of gaza, pjs and ifj focused on supporting journalists reeling from air strikes and artillery shelling. but even this basic support can be difficult to provide, because since 2007, the israeli blockade of gaza has restricted the entry of anything israel deems “dual use,” or potentially beneficial to palestinian militants. that means, while pjs distributes ballistic helmets and bulletproof vests in the west bank, it is prevented from doing so in gaza, where such life saving gear is even more desperately needed. instead, pjs and ifj have been issuing first aid kits to journalists in gaza, which nevertheless proved to be life saving, according to zaarour, as well as providing professional resources like power banks and internet connections. but as the israeli blockade of gaza intensified, cutting off even food, the necessary support became even more basic. “since the israeli army resorted to weaponizing food and other basic needs, we had to focus on providing food parcels, clothes and shelters,” zaarour said. now, nearly nine months into the israeli genocide with a permanent ceasefire still appearing elusive, zaarour says what journalists in gaza long for is an end to the violence. “there are so many things that journalists need and wish to have, but everything is dwarfed by the need for the war to end.” the pjs’s khayyat takes that demand one step further, calling not only for the end of the current israeli genocide in gaza, but the israeli occupation of palestine in general. as the monument to journalists in ramallah attests, the current genocide is only the latest manifestation of the israeli occupation of palestine. only when the occupation is over will there be no more “martyrs,” as the pjs’s recent monument memorializes. “end the occupation,” she said. “this is the main demand that we have, because most of our problems, most of the violations, most of the journalists who we are losing, it’s because of the occupation.” as donald trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: tell the truth more loudly than ever before. do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. and do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void   we’re reaching out to real people amid a life threatening political climate. our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit. as a dizzying number of corporate news organizations   either through need or greed   rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media makers to double down on community first models. at truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: we won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. we recognize the implications for democracy when information seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. the laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths   a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government. over 80 percent of truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice oriented foundations. over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep truthout barrier free for everyone. you can help by giving today. whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, truthout only works with your support. arvind dilawar is an independent journalist. his articles, interviews and essays have appeared in the new york times, time magazine, the daily beast, and elsewhere. find him online at: adilawar.com get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day. as we rise to meet an era of unchecked right wing authority, we urgently appeal for your support. will you start a monthly donation to truthout today?

by jesse marks , sarah sheffer | february 16, 2024 the people of gaza are no strangers to humanitarian crises and war. the territory has been under siege for 16 years. recurring conflicts between hamas and israel have spun out into episodes of mass violence. last year, even before this latest round of conflict, four of every five people in gaza were dependent on humanitarian aid. years of dwindling global funding for the un’s agency for palestinian refugees (unrwa) have forced aid workers to do more with less. but no one in gaza civilians, doctors, journalists, humanitarians has experienced anything like the crisis that has engulfed the territory since october 7, 2023. hamas’s historically violent attack on israel killed some 1,200 people and injured thousands. an estimated 240 people were taken hostage. the resulting israeli offensive has thrust 2.2 million people in gaza into one of the century’s worst and fastest growing humanitarian and displacement crises. yet international media coverage since october 7 has only rarely given voice to people inside gaza to share in their own words what they are experiencing. independent access for the press inside gaza has been almost entirely closed. palestinians are teetering on the brink of survival. a staggering 28,000 people have been killed, and more than 67,000 injured. of those, an estimated 70 percent are women and children making gaza the most dangerous place on earth to be a child. more than half of gaza’s buildings are damaged or destroyed. an estimated 1.7 million people have been forcibly displaced, virtually overnight. meanwhile, israel has blocked the entry of food, water, fuel, and other basic goods necessary for survival. a floundering humanitarian response is struggling to save lives in these near impossible conditions. israel will not guarantee the safety of humanitarians delivering food to starving people nor people seeking care. credible projections now show famine setting in, with 90 percent of people experiencing crisis level hunger. in roughly four months, gaza has become a hell on earth. the following brief shares testimonials from palestinians in gaza in their own words about their experiences during the war, based on interviews refugees international conducted by phone and in person in early january 2024 with palestinians inside gaza and with people who had recently fled the conflict. together, these testimonials paint a portrait of life under siege and a humanitarian response under attack. refugees international reiterates our long standing call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the lifting of the siege. most people inside gaza approximately 1.7 million of gaza’s population of 2.2 million have been forced from their homes amid the israeli offensive. the nature of these displacements have been chaotic, disorganized, and perilous. many people have been displaced multiple times, only to experience more danger where they fled. on october 13, 2023, israel ordered 1.1 million people to leave areas in the north of gaza within 24 hours. nearly half of gaza’s population was displaced overnight. many had no choice but to walk south. one palestinian woman who worked as a photographer before the war and was forced to flee gaza city during the evacuation told refugees international: the vast majority of displaced people were systematically uprooted from north and central gaza, and are now seeking refuge in the southern border town of rafah currently under intensifying bombardment and in certain designated “safe areas.” refugees international heard repeatedly that there is no safe place inside of gaza as these areas continue to see intense bombings. a nurse in gaza shared with the team: despite israel’s claims that it notifies people for evacuations ahead of an attack, many palestinians described these warnings to refugees international as inadequate or wholly absent. this is corroborated in a february investigation on unlawful israeli strikes in gaza by amnesty international. palestinians in gaza shared situations in which they followed evacuation orders, only to experience bombing in the place where they were told to shelter. one palestinian woman told refugees international: another shared similar testimony: yet another palestinian woman in gaza shared the same: an estimated 1 million people are living in or near emergency shelters, makeshift accommodations, and hospitals in central and southern gaza. informal camps continue to expand as thousands of newly displaced palestinians arrive daily to the south, especially in areas near rafah. the area is massively overcrowded. rafah’s pre war population of 280,000 has ballooned to 1.5 million. conditions are ripe for the spread of disease. shelters are far over capacity, and resources are scarce. palestinians displaced in gaza described to refugees international that the severity of their conditions are wholly undignified. a palestinian mother told refugees international: many displaced people are living in makeshift tents or in the open. israel’s blockade on the territory and tight control and ban on the entry of relief items it considers “dual use” including essential items such as tent poles make relieving the situation nearly impossible. one ngo representative told refugees international that in lieu of sending tents to gaza, they have resorted to sending plastic tarp and duct tape with an expectation that palestinians would find materials to use as tent poles in the rubble. a palestinian woman working as a nurse in gaza told refugees international explained how hard it is to find shelter: israel’s military campaign has destroyed critical civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, housing, shelters, sanitation, sewage, water and energy infrastructure, bakeries, agricultural land, schools, and more. not even religious or cultural institutions have been spared. palestinians in gaza repeatedly told refugees international that, from the ground, there is no apparent distinction in israel’s attacks. in gaza city, one palestinian told refugees international: several others in gaza pointed out that these tactics are different than in previous gaza wars: another palestinian woman in gaza working as a journalist shared how immense the carnage has become: in december, a u.s. intelligence assessment found at the time that nearly half of all bombs used in the war in gaza were unguided, “dumb bombs” that can have catastrophic impact in highly populated areas. hospitals in gaza which are protected sites under international humanitarian law have been besieged and struck by israeli bombardment, threatening patients, staff, and people sheltering for safety alike. at the end of january, only 14 out of 36 hospitals in gaza were partially functioning, and two were minimally functioning and unable to accept patients or supplies. a medical professional in gaza told refugees international: al shifa hospital is just one example where military operations in a hospital compound resulted in the widespread displacement of its patients and people sheltering inside. while there remains debate over israel’s claims that the hospital was being actively used as a militant base, the net effect is that israel’s military operations forcibly displaced thousands of civilians, staff, and patients southward. as many as 10,000 civilians still remain in al shifa hospital, many of whom were unwilling or physically unable to move due to the security risks. but this experience is not unique to al shifa. a palestinian hospital staffer working in a major hospital in southern gaza told refugees international that these evacuations occur in desperate conditions, increasing risks for the sick and injured: the southward displacement of palestinians to the remaining operational hospitals in central and southern gaza have stretched them far beyond capacity. a palestinian doctor at the european hospital in gaza told refugees international in january that their hospital was treating 900 patients more than twice its capacity of 300 to 400 patients under normal conditions and sheltering 20,000 people. the ability to sustain care for these patients is increasingly difficult due to the risks of sickness and disease spreading among those sheltering. as one palestinian doctor described to refugees international: safety for those inside hospitals is not guaranteed. one palestinian man working as a journalist in gaza recounted to refugees international: because of the risks to hospitals and the lack of security guarantees in transit to hospitals and because of the lack of capacity, many with chronic conditions in gaza are not getting the treatment they need. as one palestinian in gaza shared with refugees international: another shared similar testimony: others are delaying urgent care. a palestinian doctor in gaza told refugees international: he also shared that limited medical supplies are straining the response: another palestinian in gaza described the difficulty finding basic medicine: the indiscriminate nature of attacks have directly killed more than 150 un staff and numerous palestinian ngo and humanitarian staff, making the conflict the deadliest ever for aid workers in un history. critical humanitarian infrastructure across gaza has been damaged or destroyed. this has made the job of humanitarians who are themselves living through hell in gaza nearly impossible. as one palestinian originally from gaza city told refugees international: un agencies and humanitarians have tried to work with the israeli military on “deconfliction,” or no strike guarantees for humanitarian sites and convoys. but these requests are not guaranteed, and critical humanitarian infrastructure and convoys have been repeatedly hit, including a deadly attack on a un training site sheltering displaced people in late january. following, the un ocha deputy humanitarian coordinator for palestine called for such attacks to stop, condemning the “consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality and precautions in carrying out attacks.” this has limited the movements humanitarians can make to deliver aid, endangering aid providers and recipients alike. these conditions have made it too dangerous to facilitate mobile aid distributions, so sometimes distributions are made at points of entry. those who cannot access distribution points themselves thus suffer the most. a palestinian woman who has now fled gaza explained that her family in central gaza cannot access aid deliveries. gaza’s critical food infrastructure, including bakeries that make bread a staple food for palestinians have been destroyed in airstrikes or closed due to shortages of fuel and other essential supplies like wheat. as of mid january, only 15 bakeries in gaza were functioning a fraction of the 130 bakeries in the territory before the war. eleven have been completely destroyed in israeli strikes. no bakeries are open in the north. in one case, a bakery in the nuseirat camp was bombed twice in two days. a palestinian who witnessed both attacks told refugees international the first strike destroyed part of the bakery, but it remained partially operational to provide food for the local residents. the second strike came two days later, and destroyed not only the bakery, but the entire block, including housing units. he recounted the incident to the refugees international team: he went on to share what he described as a pattern of attacks on gaza’s food system: in another case, idf soldiers threatened the owner of gaza’s largest mill, al salam wheat mill. despite attempts by the red crescent to secure protection guarantees for the mill, it was severely damaged by israeli strikes in november, ceasing its operations. others described to refugees international how hard it is to find food. as one palestinian woman shared: the combined effects of israel’s blockade of gaza, along with severe restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers and the widespread devastation of essential infrastructure, services, and food production, have led to a profound hunger crisis that teeters on the brink of famine. approximately 1.3 million people in gaza are experiencing catastrophic or emergency level hunger. the situation inside gaza is exacerbated by rising inflation and a market that is largely depleted due to israel’s closure of borders, unpredictable border management, and limits on the number of trucks allowed entry each day. the psychological repercussions of the gaza conflict will profoundly affect millions of palestinians for generations. families, spanning from the youngest children to the eldest grandparents, have been wiped out in singular, devastating attacks. witnessing such horrors firsthand children seeing their parents fatally shot, parents desperately unearthing rubble in search of their offspring, and grandparents watching the annihilation of their entire lineage has inflicted deep, lasting psychological wounds that will be felt for years to come. a doctor in gaza shared with refugees international: a palestinian woman told the team: another palestinian in gaza described how, in some cases, the psychological toll of loss has caused some to give up. for those living through the daily bombardment, the psychological trauma is severe: a palestinian mother from gaza shared the effects the war is having on her children: even for those who were able to escape gaza, the mental toll lingers with them. one palestinian who fled gaza told refugees international, for days, dr. omar was warning his brother mohamed to leave his home in khan younis with his family. december’s short ceasefire had come to an abrupt halt in gaza, and israeli forces were moving in by land into the city. dr. omar recently moved his own wife and children into gaza’s european hospital, where he works as a pediatric surgeon. moamen and his dad before his dad was killed. but mohamed could not be convinced to leave. his five year old son moamen has cerebral palsy. moamen always felt most comfortable at home with family. and the boy would often yell at night. mohamed was afraid people might not be tolerant of his son in crowded shelters. on december 15, israeli forces surrounded and stormed mohamed’s home. eleven of dr. omar’s family members were inside. an idf soldier shot mohamed dead. then another threw a grenade into the home. it exploded, the shrapnel injuring young moamen and his mother. then they shot her dead as well, in front of her children. “i tried communicating with the red crescent, and telling them there are civilians in this house,” dr. omar recounted. “i told them these people in that house have nothing to do with the resistance, and there are women and children there. they’re all civilians! the red crescent informed the idf in their own way about the civilians in this place, but still they broke into it and killed these people.” dr. omar didn’t see his family until some of them arrived at the hospital the next morning. his nephew was carrying young moamen, who was bleeding from his head. dr. omar x rayed moamen and was relieved to see that the shrapnel had not entered his skull. but the boy’s eye was destroyed and needed to be removed. moamen recovering after his eye surgery his family recounted to him what happened. after killing mohamed and his wife, the idf soldiers interrogated the surviving family members for several hours, beat them, and took all of their belongings. “they gave them white flags and told them to [walk], except for my brother mahmoud,” dr. omar said. “they kept walking till it was night, and they slept in some sort of kindergarten that was abandoned, of course. all the places were abandoned. they stayed there till dawn, and they kept walking until they reached me in the gaza european hospital at 7:00 a.m.” meanwhile, his brother mahmoud was arrested, interrogated, and beaten. “they tied his legs and his hands. and he has injuries in his torso and legs and hands. there was no medical care, of course, or water. so by the time he reached us he was exhausted. now he reached the house of his wife’s family in deir al balah. i haven’t seen him since they released him.” despite this massive loss and horror, dr. omar perseveres and continues to provide medical care under the most difficult of circumstances. moamen is recovering though he, like so many children in gaza, is not yet safe. the war in gaza will only spell more starvation and death as it continues. already, 100,000 people in gaza are dead, injured, or missing. without a ceasefire, many more will join that fate. one palestinian mother from gaza simply told the team, “i don’t want to die. i don’t want to die.” as a ground invasion of rafah seems imminent, it is past time to make every effort possible to save civilian lives. jesse marks is the senior advocate for the middle east and sarah sheffer is the vice president for strategic outreach at refugees international. refugees international would like to thank the people inside gaza and those who recently fled who shared their perspectives and experiences with our team. for more from refugees international on the crisis in gaza, including our latest policy analysis, see here. featured image: 14 year old palestinian mohammed el yazici, who lost his mother and has not heard from his father due to israeli attacks on gaza, kisses his 6 month old baby brother in front of the makeshift tent they take shelter in in rafah, gaza on january 28, 2024. (photo by abed zagout/anadolu via getty images) sign up for our updates on the most pressing displacement and humanitarian issues. global voices for rights and refuge with your help, we create a more welcoming world for people seeking refuge. refugees international is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. ein number: 52 1224516 cfc code: 10664

ankara, 11 september   the 2019 international media seminar on peace in the middle east opened here today, with journalists, academics, diplomats and senior government officials examining the crucial role of media and online activists in amplifying the voices of everyday palestinians more than 50 years into the occupation. organized by the united nations department of global communications and turkey’s ministry for foreign affairs, the seminar’s first day featured two panel discussions focused, respectively, on the humanitarian crisis in the occupied palestinian territory and the challenges facing reporters tasked with covering it. seda pumpyanskaya, director of the strategic communications division in the department of global communications, spoke on behalf of under secretary general melissa fleming, noting that the twenty sixth media seminar stands as a reminder of the ongoing suffering of palestinians . underlining the department’s commitment to sensitizing public opinion on the issue, as well as promoting dialogue and understanding, she said the two day event will ask participants to reflect on the latest trends, practices and media narratives relating to the israel palestine conflict. discussions will focus on gaza, where clashes, an economic blockade and internal divisions have resulted in a deteriorated and fragile humanitarian situation. additional sessions will centre on the challenges facing media practitioners reporting on the ground, including limited access, censorship and even journalists’ fear for their lives. efforts to report stories about women in the israel palestine conflict   including their struggles with social stigma, lack of education and basic rights   will also be addressed, she said, as will the role of “hashtag activism” in shaping the public opinion. aydan karamanoğlu, deputy director general in turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs, said in opening remarks that the seminar will provide a chance to consider the long standing conflict from a new perspective. recalling that the diverse people of the middle east and north africa have lived and flourished together for centuries, embracing their differences as a source of strength, he said today’s reality strays dramatically from that history. emphasizing that the palestinian issue remains at the core of the region’s challenges, he pointed to the increasing pressure on palestinians, with the israel defense forces employing disproportionate force against civilians and gaza’s residents still suffering under a cruel blockade. meanwhile, measures intended to change the demographic character of jerusalem   including restrictions on muslims visiting the al aqsa mosque   pose serious concerns, he said. “we are entitled to our own views, but we are not entitled to our own facts,” he asserted, noting that the parameters for peace negotiations have been laid out for decades. palestine refugees have a right to return   and the status of “refugee” is a right, not a bargaining tool. recalling that the scale of the challenges became evident as recently as 10 september, when israel’s prime minister benjamin netanyahu announced his plan to annex parts of the jordan valley should he prevail in the upcoming election, he urged the international community not to turn a blind eye to such violations of international law. media members are among those central to building confidence between the parties and paving the way for a viable peace process, he said, adding that global news networks and social media tools provide real time information and allow individuals to become more active participants in world affairs. united nations secretary general antónio guterres said, in a message read out by ms. pumpyanskaya, that the goal of a peaceful and just solution to the palestinian question   which can only be possible with two states living in peace and security   remains elusive. the political, economic and humanitarian crises in the occupied palestinian territory have reached alarming proportions, he emphasized, noting that nearly 2 million palestinians in gaza live under severe movement and access restrictions, mired in increasing poverty and unemployment and with limited access to health, education, water and electricity. while the international community must act with speed and determination to address those needs, no amount of humanitarian or economic support will resolve the conflict, he said, stressing that the united nations stands committed to supporting palestinians and israelis in ending the conflict on the basis of international law, relevant resolutions and previous agreements. cheikh niang (senegal), chair of the committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the palestinian people, expressed alarm over the acceleration of israel’s settlement construction and attacks against unarmed palestinians. also voicing concern over escalating violence against journalists in the occupied palestinian territory, he said statistics from the palestinian center for development and media freedoms show that attacks against palestinian media workers rose by 60 per cent in 2018 to 584 violations of media freedoms. even amid those conditions, members of the media continue their work. “you, the journalists, can contribute in many ways to creating a better future for the palestinian people, including by giving voice to the voiceless,” he stressed, adding: “your job is not an easy one.” urging all governments, including the palestinian authorities, to ensure that the media’s right to free opinion and expression are protected, he recalled that in july, two special rapporteurs on human rights called upon israel to halt the deportation of a palestinian photojournalist from jerusalem. meanwhile, the united nations training programme for palestinian journalists familiarized its almost 200 graduates with the work of the organization and the question of palestine. outlining other 2019 initiatives   including the commemoration of the international day of solidarity with the palestinian people, to be held on 26 november, and the committee’s robust social media presence   he said the proliferation of independent journalists and social media users “guarantees that the true story of what is taking place on the ground will be told”. throughout the day, speakers considered such themes as the region’s shifting political landscape, economic hardships facing palestinians   particularly in gaza   and the recent spike in violence, while highlighting the need to disseminate real life human stories to media consumers around the globe. during the morning session, panellist tania hary, executive director of the israeli non profit organization gisha, said the man made crisis in gaza cannot be resolved simply by building water plants or providing aid or jobs   though all those are urgently needed. instead, what is needed most is hope and freedom. noting that 70 per cent of gaza’s 2 million residents are young people, she warned that recent events   including the 2018 decision by the united states to cut off aid to the united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east (unrwa)   have evolved into a “perfect storm” of challenges facing palestinians. she added that the annexation plans announced by prime minister benjamin netanyahu will only exacerbate their isolation. striking a similar tone, riyad mansour, permanent observer for the state of palestine to the united nations, declared: “our people are struggling, like all people living under occupation, for freedom, independence and dignity.” while unrwa should provide support so long as the occupation continues, more than just humanitarian support is needed, he emphasized. peter mulrean, director of the unrwa representative office in new york, outlined the psychosocial effects of the occupation on civilians. continuous home demolitions, detentions and human rights violations have led to a pervasive sense of fear, despair and hopelessness, which play out on both the individual and community levels, he said. describing those impacts as the greatest humanitarian challenge of all, he said unrwa continues its work “because we have no choice”. the scale of the agency’s efforts in gaza alone is massive, with 280,000 children in its schools, nearly 4 million patient visits per year in its clinics and a million people reliant on the food assistance it provides. decrying attempts to politicize those efforts, he cautioned against destroying institutions “unless you are damned sure” that something better will replace them. during the afternoon discussion, panellists representing a range of news and media outlets shared their experiences in reporting from gaza and the broader occupied palestinian territory, shedding light on access restrictions, intimidation and physical attacks, the safety of journalists and the creeping role of self censorship in some media markets. amira hass, a long time journalist and columnist for haaretz, said the israeli media are mostly uninterested in covering the occupied palestinian territory. describing her struggle to identify a vocabulary through which to adequately illustrate the dire and complex situation on the ground, she said such topics require many words to explain properly   space that journalists often lack. she also cited difficulties in accessing sources, who rightly fear recriminations from the authorities, the challenge of reporting on a charged emotional issue and the difficulty of obtaining information from the government of israel. in addition, israeli groups monitor every detail of coverage on the occupied palestinian territory, which can be exhausting and intimidating to journalists. and contrary to expectations, there is reluctance among palestinian authorities, especially in gaza, to share information with journalists wishing to cover the palestine story. on a similar point, several speakers   including ian black, a professor and former middle east editor of the the guardian   voiced concern that the world has grown weary of years of news stories emerging from the middle east, explaining that there is little appetite among news editors for stories that repeatedly revisit the same crises and conflicts. the international media seminar will reconvene at 9 a.m. on thursday, 12 september. panel i the seminar opened with a panel discussion on the theme “the humanitarian crisis in the occupied palestinian territory”. moderated by seda pumpyanskaya, director of the strategic communications division in the united nations department of global communications, it featured four panellists: tania hary, executive director, gisha; riyad mansour, permanent observer, state of palestine; korkut güngen, director general, multilateral political affairs, ministry of foreign affairs, turkey; and peter mulrean, director, united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east (unrwa) representative office, new york. ms. pumpyanskaya said that after more than 70 years of conflict, the situation in the west bank, including east jerusalem, and gaza has degenerated into a political, social, economic and humanitarian quagmire. despite international attempts to find a viable solution, the conflict continues, and the humanitarian situation has deteriorated. opening the discussion, she asked panellists to elaborate on the factors that triggered the current crisis. ms. hary said her group was founded in 2005, before israel’s disengagement from gaza and two years before hamas took power there. emphasizing that human rights violations and the humanitarian crisis are not “the sad outcome of a lack of resolution to conflict” but rather intentional attempts to further the occupation, she said israel controls gaza by imposing serious restrictions on movement and access. the man made crisis must be viewed more broadly and cannot be resolved simply by building water plants or providing aid or jobs   though all those are urgently needed. instead, what is most needed is hope and freedom. pointing out that 70 per cent of gaza’s 2 million residents are young people, she urged participants to be honest about the causes of the current crisis. among those are israel’s separation policy in gaza and the “perfect storm” of events in recent years, including the united states decision to cut off aid to the territory. in that context, she added that the annexation plans announced by prime minister netanyahu will only exacerbate the palestinians’ isolation. mr. mansour agreed that the situation on the ground in gaza is tragic and arises in large part from the long standing economic blockade. however, the isolation of those living elsewhere in the occupied palestinian territory is no less tragic. “our people are struggling, like all people living under occupation, for freedom, independence and dignity,” he stressed. while unrwa should provide support so long as the population continues to struggle against the occupation, he agreed that more than just humanitarian support is needed. noting that occupations are meant to end after a short time, he said that after decades, an occupation becomes colonialism. recalling the 1975 establishment of the committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the palestinian people, he said the general assembly also mandated the establishment of a special information programme aimed at educating journalists and the global public about the reality faced by palestinians living under occupation. today, the committee and the department of global communications work in tandem to prevent the question of palestine from drifting into obscurity and to maximize pressure on those who stand in the way of palestinians’ rights. mr. güngen said that while acute humanitarian issues do arise occasionally, the question being discussed today is unfortunately a chronic one. “one has to ask: why is it getting worse?” while humanitarian actors including united nations agencies and non governmental groups are active in the occupied palestinian territory, he stressed that “at the end of the day, there is an occupation”. describing unrwa   established in 1949   as a living testimony to the longstanding nature of the crisis, he said its challenges are not limited to gaza or the west bank but are also felt in jordan, lebanon and syria, where palestine refugees live. citing chronic infrastructure, health, education and other challenges, he agreed with other panellists that their underlying cause is the occupation. while humanitarian assistance is critical and indeed part of the solution, he warned that “one cannot continue trying to provide better lives […] under these circumstances”. turning israel’s recent announcement concerning the impending annexation of parts of the jordan valley, he said such an action   along with the united states 2018 decisions to move its embassy to jerusalem and cut funding to unrwa   will only exacerbate the situation. mr. mulrean emphasized the need to view the dramatic circumstances in gaza and across the occupied palestinian territory through the lens of those impacted on the ground. while the situation is longstanding, it feels like it is worsening, he said, citing the great march of return and associated violence at the gaza border fence. living under the occupation has a major psychosocial effect on the people experiencing home demolitions, detentions and rights violations, with a pervasive sense of fear, despair and hopelessness playing out on both the individual and community levels. describing those dynamics as the greatest humanitarian challenge of all, he said unrwa continues its work “because we have no choice”. the scale of the agency’s efforts in gaza alone is massive, with 280,000 children in agency schools, nearly 4 million patient visits per year in its clinics and a million people relying on the food assistance it provides. warning against attempts to politicize unrwa’s work, he said its workers adhere to the core humanitarian principle of neutrality. “we go to extraordinary lengths to reflect united nations values,” he stressed, noting that politicization has increased sharply since the united states decision to defund the agency. while it is every country’s sovereign right to do as it chooses with its funds, he rejected the narrative that underpinned those cuts   namely, placing blame on unrwa. citing a grave new threat   calls to dismantle unrwa   he recalled the secretary general’s recent characterization of the agency as a united nations success and warned against destroying institutions “unless you are damned sure” that something better will replace them. ms. pumpyanskaya then asked the panellists what should be done to improve the situation on the ground. mr. güngen pledged that turkey will continue to support palestinians, including by raising the issue in international forums. turkey recently helped to pioneer two united nations resolutions   including one on the protection of palestinian civilians   and provides support to unrwa and other intergovernmental agencies. mr. mansour said the international community has demonstrated massive political support for unrwa in the face of efforts to dismantle it. what is immediately needed is to continue to defend the agency politically, to succeed in renewing its mandate in the general assembly and to keep funding its critical work. as israel attempts to gain the political upper hand by seeking to take the issues of refugees and jerusalem off the negotiating table, and the united states engages in financial blackmail, he called on the international community to fund unrwa and persuade capitals not to move their embassies to jerusalem. the international consensus in favour of a two state solution   evident in both the security council and the general assembly   must be preserved, he stressed, adding that the humanitarian and political dimensions of the crisis cannot be separated. ms. hary said that surviving and thriving is a revolutionary act in the context of israel’s attempts to empty out the occupied palestinian territory. warning participants not to be distracted by that strategic approach, she said israel purposely keeps the situation in gaza from boiling over in order to maintain the occupation. she urged member states not to take at face value the many restrictions currently in place. mr. mulrean emphasized that values, laws and institutions   all of which are now under attack   still matter. the multilateral world is going through a challenging period in which its fundamentals are under threat. stressing that unrwa does not exist “to make us feel noble” but rather preserve a world where it is easier for everyone to live, he said its work cannot be considered an á la carte menu. humanitarian work must be preserved even when it is uncomfortable. no one, most of all palestine refugees, wants unrwa to exist for another 70 years; however, for the moment, that 70 year old investment must be safeguarded. the participants were asked to provide additional thoughts on those themes. mr. mansour agreed that unrwa is one of the united nations success stories. in the political arena, he declared that “the era of netanyahu must come to an end” and expressed hope that a new government coalition can create some of the conditions needed to push the peace process forward. ms. hary urged participants to view the situation through the lens of young people, who are often viewed as a threat rather than valued for their vast potential. in that context, she advocated for more support for educational exchange programmes and other platforms for youth dialogue. mr. mulrean, touching on the same topic, said unrwa schools teach children   including talented student parliamentarians   to advocate for themselves and their communities. such efforts demonstrate the agency’s practical value and provide a great source of hope against the backdrop of many challenges, he said. mr. güngen said descriptions of frustration in gaza should not be interpreted as submission. similarly, israel’s upcoming election should not distract from its systematic attempts to disregard humanitarian law. the floor was then opened for questions and comments. tur gut alp boyraz, middle east and north africa news editor at anadolu agency, asked mr. mansour to elaborate on the possibility that israel will annex parts of the west bank and the jordan valley, including what such a decision will mean on the ground and any practical steps the palestinian authority plans to take in such a scenario. mr. mansour responded by recalling that the security council condemned similar unilateral moves in the 1980s, noting that more recently, resolution 2334 (2016) rejected such actions as “null and void”. while similar resolutions are expected to be adopted should the announced annexation take place, it is to be hoped that the forces attempting to pursue that irresponsible course will not prevail. ahmed shihab eldin, a senior correspondent for aj+, cited reports about israel’s attempts to limit the number of calories and medical supplies entering the occupied palestinian territory and asked panellists how israelis can justify such actions. “people tend to be complicit in the actions of their governments, whether they’re aware of it or not,” he pointed out. ms. hary replied that a recent poll showed that about two thirds of israelis are aware of the gaza crisis, but the majority feel they are not responsible for it. a 2010 strategic public relations shift pushed for open conversation about those issues but also sought to distance israel, she said, underlining the need for accountability and more explicit recognition of its role in the man made crisis. a university student from turkey recalled that the organization for islamic cooperation (oic) helped to successfully advocate for two general assembly resolutions, including one on the protection of palestinian civilians, but noted that the effect is still not evident on the ground. she asked what can be done to increase the effectiveness of such agreements. mr. mansour recalled that the general assembly requested and later received recommendations from the secretary general on practical means to ensure the protection of palestinian civilians. more must now be done to implement those recommendations, including by funding them, he said. mr. güngen added that the two resolutions are intended to consolidate international support and solidarity for the palestinian people while sending a strong message to israel and the united states. mr. mulrean, while expressing the futility of passing numerous resolutions without implementing them, also warned that failure to adopt such agreements can send a dangerous message that the united nations is disengaged from a certain issue. multilateral action   alongside efforts by media outlets and other actors   must therefore keep the spotlight on the crisis and generate momentum. ms. hary, responding to brief closing questions, cited her organization’s legal battle to support a family’s right of residency in the west bank as an example that success is indeed possible. mr. mansour, asked whether the humanitarian crisis can be attributed in part to divisions among palestinians, said that such rifts undoubtedly play a negative role, while expressing hope that “this dark chapter” in palestinian history will end as quickly as possible. mr. güngen, responding to a question about support for humanitarian action, agreed that more should be done in that crucial area, with sustainable and predictable funding provided. mr. mulrean, asked whether unrwa is still facing a funding shortfall, said it needs $120 million, or 10 per cent of its annual budget, to carry out its work until the end of 2019. the agency is now working to diversify its financing sources and seeks to obtain a commitment that its funding is a common international responsibility, he added. panel ii moderating the day’s second panel discussion, titled “the situation in gaza: ongoing challenges for media reporting”, was mr. niang (senegal), committee chair. it featured presentations by majd al waheidi, researcher and former reporter for the new york times in gaza; ian black, visiting senior fellow at the middle east centre, london school of economics and political science, and former middle east editor of the guardian; amira hass, journalist and columnist for haaretz; and merve şebnem oruç, columnist for daily sabah. mr. niang (senegal), noting that media outlets are often criticized for providing insufficient or inaccurate information when reporting from gaza, asked the reason for that and who is to blame. ms. waheidi said those questions must be considered in the context of the impossible situation in which journalists live and work. stressing that there are no civil liberties or political rights in the occupied palestinian territory, she said local journalists   who often serve as sources of information for foreign reporters   have been detained, targeted and killed. both traditional and non traditional journalists must work together to present the facts, she said, noting that the larger question is about their ability to report without being shot and killed by the israel defense forces. mr. black said bias often results from the toxicity of the conflict and the extremely difficult conditions in which reporters operate in the occupied palestinian territory. while foreign journalists are largely safe there, palestinian reporters face greater challenges, he said. citing intense scrutiny and pressure from media watchdogs on both sides, he added that small reporting errors that have no real consequences can have a serious impact on a journalist’s credibility for many years. ms. hass said that israel’s media are mostly uninterested in covering the occupied palestinian territory, adopting instead the rhetoric and vocabulary of politicians. describing her own struggle to identify a new vocabulary through which to illustrate the situation on the ground, she said such complex topics require many words to explain properly   space that journalists often lack. she also cited difficulties in accessing sources, who rightly fear recrimination from the authorities, the challenge of reporting on a charged emotional issue and difficulties in obtaining information both from israel’s government and from palestinian authorities, especially in gaza. ms. oruç described her time spent with friends in the occupied palestinian territory several years ago, when she was able to see the situation with her own eyes. despite having procured a tourist visa, israeli authorities repeatedly approached her using subtle but persistent intimidation tactics, she said, adding they intimidate the broader palestinian population through spying, false news, threats and secret information gathering. mr. niang (senegal) then asked what can be done to safeguard journalists reporting from gaza, and who is responsible for those protections. ms. hass replied that the onus is greater on israeli journalists than on palestinian reporters, because the former enjoy greater overall security. however, journalists from all backgrounds face the same threats from explosions and air strikes, she pointed out, stressing that they all need protection. ms. oruç said journalists from different countries work from different business models, but all face threats to a certain extent. the question is more about safety and threats to life than about state criticism, she said, adding that female journalists face more risks at the front lines than their male counterparts. mr. black shared his experience of watching history unfold in gaza during the 1980s, when journalists of all backgrounds were largely able freely to operate there. noting that israeli journalists have not been allowed to enter gaza since 2006, he said foreign correspondents and palestinians working for foreign outlets today also operate under serious restrictions, including the repression of hamas. ms. waheidi spotlighted the struggles of journalists caught between criticisms by various palestinian factions. “your work becomes a war,” she said, urging palestinian reporters working in gaza to listen, remain open and stay committed to their work. ms. oruç, asked to provide additional thoughts, said the palestinian cause is important to people across turkey’s political spectrum, but there has been a recent shift in which fewer stories are reported out of the occupied palestinian territory, due perhaps to the growing chaos and conflict across the broader region. mr. black, echoing some of those sentiments, noted that a certain fatigue has set in across global media outlets regarding the israel palestine conflict, and there is little appetite among news editors for stories that revisit the same crises and conflicts again and again. the floor was then opened for questions and comments. ali ghaith, a contributor to the independent global media platform opendemocracy, asked why ms. hass believes israel’s government has given her so much space to report freely over the course of her career, pointing out that her work has great potential to spark structural change. ms. hass said that whereas the government does not restrict her reporting, no structural change is possible because the israeli public still feel they have a “duty to know”. to illustrate that point, she shared an anecdote about a palestinian farmer whom she assisted in small ways   given her status as an israeli journalist   but whose broader life she was unable to impact. mr. shihab eldin, who also participated in the morning session, recalled that in his previous experience with the huffington post, editors questioned his engagement with young palestinian journalists. “censorship is alive and well,” he said, emphasizing that many outlets will not touch the “politically contentious” conflict. concerning physical attacks against journalists, he asked how firing live ammunition at unarmed people can ever be justified as an act of restraint. he also asked how to counteract skewed editorial framing that appears in so many news stories about the conflict. ms. hass responded by stating that the main challenge   to which she has no solution   lies in making reporters and sources less afraid. “we have to be 200 per cent accurate and without slogans,” she said, stressing the special responsibility journalists bear in reporting on the conflict. mr. black underlined the asymmetrical nature of the situation, underlining the fact that it is not a conflict between equals. ms. oruç spotlighted the increasingly open relations between israel and other countries across the middle east, noting that the rise of hamas has led some governments to “whitewash” israel’s actions, including through media outlets. anat saragusti, a filmmaker, book editor, freelance journalist and writer, agreed that the world is growing weary of the middle east and its conflicts. she also agreed with ms. hass that finding adequate language to reflect decades of systemic challenges is an extremely difficult task. recalling her time as a commercial television editor in israel, she said palestinians who appear on such outlets often feel pressure to represent the entire cause of their people, which leads to the emergence of clichés and the appearance of tokenism. orly noy, editor at local call and a contributor to +972 magazine, asked mr. black to elaborate on the role of self censorship in western media outlets. while people are widely aware of the media bias in israel, journalists elsewhere may also be shifting their coverage for fear of being painted as anti semitic, she said. mr. boyraz, also a participant in the morning session, raised issues relating to the knesset and israel’s claims to be a democratic country. he also asked the panellists to consider new restrictions imposed on journalists by hamas. mr. black responded by stating that he does not believe the guardian was ever involved in self censorship. underlining that criticizing israel’s government is not the same as anti semitism, he noted that such accusations are nevertheless appearing more frequently in both the british press and politics. ms. hass said israeli groups monitor every detail of coverage of the occupied palestinian territory, which can be exhausting and intimidating to journalists. describing the spy tactics used by israel’s government and hamas against non governmental groups, she said journalists increasingly face the same threats. ms. waheidi said she once covered the story of a young palestinian man shot by egyptian soldiers in 2015 while crossing the border, who died after failing to gain access to medical care. she described attacks against journalists, including intentionally wounding them by shooting at their legs, as symbolic actions against press freedom. mr. mansour urged the panellists to continue to pursue their work. “we need you to keep reporting in spite of all the difficulties,” he said, emphasizing that their stories must be told. this morning in geneva, the human rights council held a special session on the situation in eastern democratic republic of the congo and adopted a resolution establishing a fact finding mission to examine violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law committed in north and south kivu provinces. facebook twitter email print linkedin

our goal: to leave no breach of freedom of information unreported. discover our world press freedom ranking, our latest investigation reports as well as our publications produced every day by our regional offices, in connection with our network of correspondents in 115 countries around the world. to make a lasting change, we carry out in depth work with governments and institutions. we offer concrete solutions and launch international initiatives. we are on the ground to assist journalists in danger. anywhere and anytime. do you believe there can be no freedom of conscience without freedom of the press? do you want to help free and independent journalism, and those who embody it? do you want to defend the right to information? there are several ways to support rsf: find the one that suits you and join the fight! go behind the scenes of rsf and discover in detail our operations, our teams, our funding, our governance… but also our favourite picks, partners, projects and events we support and who act in their own way to advance our commmon ideal. the rafah border crossing into the south of the gaza strip, which has been completely closed since the start of the israel hamas war, must be opened, says reporters without borders (rsf). after having to evacuate the north, gaza’s journalists are being told by israel to gather at the border with egypt without being able to cross, while foreign reporters are still prevented from entering “open the gates!” this is the call that rsf is issuing to the israeli, as well as egyptian authorities so that journalists can finally come and go across the border between gaza and egypt. with few exceptions, no journalists have been allowed to leave gaza since 7 october, and the few who have been able to leave have not been allowed back. in the other direction, the very few journalists who have been able to enter the gaza strip were embedded with the israeli army, and submitted to strict restrictions. palestinian journalists are literally imprisoned in the gaza strip, from which they cannot escape to safety. this violates un security council resolution 2222, which requires member states to protect journalists like other civilians. conversely, foreign journalists are being denied access to the gaza strip. in two months of war, no reporters have been allowed to enter through rafah, clearly undermining the media's ability to cover the conflict. the rafah crossing into egypt is currently the gaza strip's only connection to the outside world. however, israel is monitoring all activity at the southern border and bombed the crossing four times early in the war. this strict control has allowed israel to prevent adequate aid from entering the gaza strip since hamas’s attack more than 400 aid trucks were arriving every day before 7 october. the average is now 14, according to reuters. this blockade has led to a shortage in the resources needed by gaza's civilian population, including journalists. after being forced to evacuate the entire northern part of the gaza strip, palestinian journalists moved to the south, around the nasser hospital in khan yunis. “after israeli threats against khan yunis, journalists are moving to rafah, which does not have internet, communication services or logistical support for the media,” saeed al khatib, a gaza based photo journalist with agence france presse told rsf. “this creates a lot of pressure and difficulty for reporters. we are trying to find alternatives with egyptian or israeli sim cards.” since the end of the humanitarian truce between israel and hamas on 1 december, southern gaza has also become the target of israeli incursions. the only “safe” option for journalists is now rafah, the village on the egyptian border. but even there, the bombs are continuing to fall, rsf has been told, and it is increasingly difficult for reporters to work and transmit information to the outside world. “while the israeli army continues to kill journalists in gaza   14 in the course of their work in less than two months   and to restrict their access to vital supplies and equipment, and while israeli disinformation campaigns undermine the entire media’s credibility, the israeli authorities still refuse to allow international journalists access. journalists must be able to cover this war. gaza must not become an information black hole. we call for the urgent opening of the rafah crossing.” journalists besieged in a shrinking territory a total of 58 journalists have been killed by israeli strikes in the gaza strip in the two months of war, including 14 in the course of their work, while dozens of media premises have been destroyed. “we live in a state of siege,” the famous freelance photo journalist motaz azaiza posted on his instagram account. “we cannot go south or north, israeli tanks surround both sides.” the day after that post, he reported that he narrowly escaped shots coming from an israeli tank while filming near the salah al din highway with several colleagues who, like him, were wearing press labelled bulletproof vest and helmets. your donations enable rsf to keep working. we depend on you in order to be able to monitor respect for press freedom and take action worldwide. media freedom is a fundamental right, but nearly half of the world’s population has no access to freely reported news and information. we need you. join our organisation! you support our activities when you buy our books of photos: all of the profits go to reporters without borders. thanks to you, we remain independent."

a displaced palestinian woman tries to get internet service on her phone through the egyptian networks to communicate with her relatives, near the border with egypt, in rafah in the southern gaza strip february 1, 2024. reuters/mohammed salem a few metres from gaza’s border with egypt, al jazeera journalist maram humaid saw an 18 year old man on a pile of sand holding planks of wood in the air, glued to which was a mobile phone. “this is the telecommunications company of the makeshift camp,” the young man explained. he was connecting to an egyptian internet service provider through an esim   a virtual sim card allowing connection to a mobile network without a physical sim   so other displaced people could access a hotspot. “i can’t stay disconnected, so i strive to find a solution,” humaid recalls the young man telling her. this is just one example of how people in gaza are finding innovative ways to stay connected with each other in the face of israeli attacks and internet shutdowns. i wanted to know how they have managed to stay connected and informed since october. so i spoke with humaid as well as with palestinian digital rights analysts and gaza residents. they discussed the extreme challenges they’ve faced when sharing and receiving vital news in the midst of israel’s military campaign. on 9 october israeli defence minister yoav gallant announced a “complete siege” of gaza, including the withholding of fuel and electricity, severely hampering all services that relied on a steady supply of power. within a few weeks, gaza’s largest telecoms provider paltel said heavy bombardment had destroyed the last remaining infrastructure connecting the territory’s internet to the rest of the world, plunging the strip into its first near total blackout. according to a local expert quoted by a source at the intercept, internet access declined by 80 to 90%. gaza’s residents relied heavily on the internet to communicate with each other and with authorities and ngos. but even before the war, a severe digital divide existed. digital rights analyst marwa fatafta says israel’s decades long blockade has prevented technology entering gaza that provides more than a 1990s standard 2g connection. “it's easy [for israel] to surveil and intercept calls and messages when they are on 2g networks,” fatafta tells me from hamburg. she works as mena policy and advocacy director for access now, an organisation which has tracked the disruption to gaza’s connectivity since the start of the war. their analysis recorded multiple occasions when there has been a complete blackout, lasting from one day to an entire week. fatafta says access now has been involved in multiple crises across the world where digital shutdowns have occurred, including in sudan, ethiopia, iran and myanmar. they have always found solutions to reconnect those who fall within their mandate including journalists, civil society groups and human rights defenders. but this time it’s been much more difficult. “in gaza we always hit the same wall,” she says. “israel controls every piece of technology, equipment, material, going into the gaza strip. the fact that whatever connects gaza to the rest of the world   the cables run through israel, and israel can just kill the switch   is unacceptable at this point.” with children in gaza already dying from hunger and 100,000s facing famine, fatafta acknowledges that functioning telecoms infrastructure “might not be the most pressing thing.” but she believes the internet has become “as essential as food and water in some cases for people's survival.” she points to an incident where a tank fired on a family fleeing the north of gaza in their car: “if you don’t know where’s the safest route for you to escape, or you don't know where the israeli army is present and you can't verify, you just hear rumours, it can really endanger your life.” access now has managed to circumvent these digital shutdowns through the use of esims. the initiative was started by egyptian activist mirna el helbawi and gazan journalist amhed el madhoun, who became the first esim user since the war started. in a recent cnn piece el helbawi described the moment she realised these devices could work “as light at the end of a very dark tunnel.” but esims do not always provide the reliable connection that gazans so desperately need, especially when people are forced to move so frequently. “we've helped people with esim cards, and sometimes they work but sometimes they don't,” fatafta explains. “sometimes they work for a certain period of time. but then if you relocate, as many people had to relocate multiple times, they don't work because you have to be close to either an israeli or an egyptian cell tower to be able to latch on to it.” al jazeera’s humaid has also seen the emergence of pop up ‘cyber points’ where people gather to get a signal. on her way to work, she passes two of them set up by people with technical know how for disconnected gazans who pay hourly to get online. “they are just engineers, they have these tricks, these unbelievable ways of digging for a solution,” humaid says. “people here are just very innovative, and everyone has found ways to adapt to the situation and to live with the materials available around them.” in a war where the israeli army has destroyed or damaged 60% of all homes in gaza, many residents have also lost their basic personal possessions, including devices to get them online. yafa abu aker, an independent journalist who has been displaced multiple times and who is now considering fleeing the southern city of rafah too, says, “i lost my house after three days [of the war] and i lost everything i need for work: my laptop, my mobile.” for those who can access a mobile phone, the lack of electricity means charging it has become a time consuming task alongside securing other basic essentials. dr ramy morjan, a chemistry professor whose workplace at the islamic university of gaza was destroyed, says it takes a long time to access communal charging points, powered by car batteries, solar cells or generators. “i spend between four to five hours getting my mobile battery charged with only 50%,” morjan says. the lack of reliable phone connections has proven a life or death scenario for many in gaza, says hamza ibrahim, an english language teacher and contributor to the website we are not numbers, over a brief whatsapp exchange. “we can't even call an ambulance. we use a horse cart to get the dead or injured into the hospital,” he says. phone services are further stretched due to gaza’s population being ever more concentrated, particularly in the south. rafah’s population, for example, has grown at least five fold since the start of the war. “even when the services are on, because of the load on the network, it's really hard to connect,” fatafta says. because of the restrictions to online connectivity, morjan says the internet is no longer the first option for getting the vital information palestinians need to manage their daily lives. many are turning to radio instead to find crucial information about humanitarian deliveries in the gaza. “national and international radio stations have their correspondents who keep monitoring and reporting the entry of aid into gaza through the rafah border,” he says. al jazeera provides a radio version of its television stream while the bbc in november launched an emergency radio service for gaza. mohammed alkhatib, gaza programme manager for medical aid for palestinians, says that “local radio stations are the main source of news for local people as they don’t require electricity or internet working at all times.” writer and teacher ibrahim confirmed this: “the main way to get information is through radio.” near to where she is based in deir al balah, al jazeera's humaid says there are many displaced families living in tents and makeshift camps. many are using their phone’s fm radio app to follow the war’s developments. “i’m seeing people putting their earphones on and listening to the news all day long. radio is now the easiest way to get the news in gaza,” she says. the complete shutdown of normal life means that people are glued to radio news to pass the time. “we spend most of the time listening to the news as we have nothing else to do. we’re following the news in the hope of hearing the war is finished,” says morjan, who also lives in deir al balah after being forced out of gaza city. radio sets are reportedly selling out in gaza and prices have doubled since the war started, one shopkeeper told arab news in december. for those with no access to a traditional radio, tuning in to audio broadcasts still comes with its challenges. “listening to radio is also a problem as we are using mobile phones to listen to news and that means we have the same issue in charging [them],” morjan says. for many around the world, x and instagram have become portals into the daily lives of gaza’s residents, with multiple journalists’ accounts gaining millions of followers as they document the horror of the war unfolding around them. for residents in the gaza strip, however, more closed messaging apps have become the networks of choice when internet access is possible. jalal abukhater, advocacy manager at the arab center for the advancement of social media, based in the israeli city of haifa, says telegram has become a useful tool for the dissemination of news and information. abukhater believes censorship of gaza related content on facebook and instagram means telegram is often viewed as more reliable for real time updates. “it feels like you're receiving news from the source unfiltered. it’s something that you wouldn't find on other platforms,” he says. abukhater acknowledges that this unfiltered approach to content is “a double edged sword.” one telegram channel run by the idf’s influencing department featured extremely graphic and racist posts. other channels, abukhater says, have doxxed those who speak up for palestinian rights. in october, telegram was pressured to remove several hamas channels, being one of the last major social media platforms to do so, though some accounts remain active. abukhater says telegram users in some places across gaza have set up neighbourhood focused channels to provide their residents with access to vital information. an estimated 85% of gaza’s population are internally displaced, so knowing what services are available in the immediate, often unfamiliar, vicinity is crucial. “if you want to get the most relevant news to a certain neighbourhood you're in, you'd find a telegram channel that's run for this purpose,” abukhater says. journalist humaid says these neighbourhood channels, as well as whatsapp groups, play “an important role in reaching out to families and to people, especially those who are missing or lost.” she recalls how a messaging group serving the al maghazi refugee camp was used to warn residents about the idf entering the neighbourhood. “when they invaded al maghazi,” she says, “people were asking about each other, and reaching out to each other. people also informed each other about the presence of tanks at the entrances to the camp through these groups. so they play a major role in accessing or spreading information to others.” these online groups also provide useful leads and sources for humaid’s journalism. “i reached out to people [asking them] to recount their suffering and i’ve used their testimonies in my work,” she says. humaid stresses that these groups are only useful when the internet is accessible. gazan authorities also run telegram channels toshare news and to highlight essential information. abukhater says, “the ministry of health has a telegram channel where it broadcasts daily reports, but also you read messages saying to people who are living in this area, ‘there's a clinic now that does some form of liver dialysis’, for example.” humaid says these official broadcast channels offer a direct way of accessing news from news agencies and statements from different groups, including hamas. in mid february, international news organisations reported statements from a hamas telegram channel that two israeli hostages had been killed by idf airstrikes on rafah. gaza’s shattered telecoms network is forcing the israeli military to resort to offline methods themselves in order to make their messages known to palestinians. “when israelis want to order an entire neighbourhood to be cleared out, they would throw leaflets from the sky or they would broadcast through megaphones or send a drone to broadcast,” abukhater says. the lengths that people in gaza are going to to stay connected, and the desperation that is felt amid frequent blackouts, points to the value of news and connection at a time of desperate need. “without the internet,” ibrahim says, “everything stops for us.” in every email we send you'll find original reporting, evidence based insights, online seminars and readings curated from 100s of sources   all in 5 minutes. reuters institute for the study of journalism university of oxford 13 norham gardens oxford, ox2 6ps united kingdom privacy policy, accessibility statement t: +44 (0)1865 611080 e: reuters.institute@politics.ox.ac.uk
middle east tensions we have been working with journalists who were already in gaza when the siege began, but limited access has made reporting difficult. by the new york times reporting inside gaza is extremely challenging right now. israel has prevented journalists from entering the region except when accompanied by its military, and then only under certain conditions, while egypt, along its border, is also blocking access. communications have been limited, in part because of the israeli siege of the enclave. many palestinian journalists in gaza have been killed in airstrikes. and even before the war, hamas restricted what reporters could cover in gaza, limiting their movement, interrogating their sources and translators and expelling foreign reporters for work deemed objectionable. the times, along with other news organizations, has asked the governments of israel and egypt for direct access to gaza because reporting on the ground is vital to understanding this crisis. throughout the war, the times has been working with journalists who were already in gaza when the siege began. we have been interviewing residents and officials in gaza by phone and using digital apps. we have asked people in the area to share their stories with us on video, which we then confirm are real. we also verify photos and social media posts using similar techniques, scrutinizing them to determine where and when they were taken or written and cross checking with other sources, such as satellite imagery. we cross reference any information we gather with interviews with the u.n. and other international organizations, many of which have employees in different parts of gaza. in general, we try to avoid relying on a single source and we seek to include detailed information whenever possible.

 this holiday season, give to: the media line's intrepid correspondents are in israel, gaza, lebanon, syria and pakistan providing first person reporting. we report with just one agenda: the truth. a new report claims that bbc reporting on the gaza war is biased against israel, but journalism experts say that publishing accurate, impartial information in the fog of war is no easy feat as the conflict in the middle east continues to expand, a parallel battle of narratives is unfolding in the media. israeli watchdog organizations have accused the international press of favoring the palestinian side, but various international reports suggest a different story. the media line spoke with israeli, british, and american experts on media ethics on the complicated dynamics of war reporting. multiple experts highlighted the challenges of accessing information during wartime. “a journalist covering a war zone is often very limited in how far they can go in terms of their personal safety,” philip seib, professor emeritus at the university of southern california and author of several books on wartime reporting, told the media line.