Security risks in reporting Israel-Gaza stressed by media organisations
“Amid an information blackout and the barring of international journalists from entering Gaza, the world depends heavily on Palestinian journalists for coverage of the war. We stand behind all of them in their incredible courage as they seek to document this war for the world”, International Press Institute’s (IPI) Deputy Director, Scott Griffen, says in a statement. “We also demand that Israel allow international journalists to enter Gaza and report freely from the territory.”
US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says “the first month of the Israel-Gaza war is now the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began documenting journalist fatalities in 1992.”
As of November 27, CPJ’s investigations showed at least 57 journalists and media workers were among more than 15,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 14,000 deaths in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 in Israel.
“This deadly toll is coupled with harassment, detentions, and other reporting obstructions in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and beyond”, CPJ says.
IPI says that the vast majority of the journalists included in IPI’s data were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. IPI’s tally includes both journalists killed while on assignment as well as journalists who are among the civilian casualties of missile strikes and other attacks.
IPI’s data shows that of 50 killed journalists and media personnel, at least 11 were killed on assignment. Over 100 journalists have been injured while more than 30 have been detained, according to figures by local monitoring groups.
Of the 50 killed journalists, the vast majority were Palestinians. Since October 7, four Israeli and three Lebanese journalists have also been killed”, IPI says.
IPI is criticizing Israel saying that “Israel has not signaled sufficient willingness to ensure the safety and protection of journalists and media workers in Gaza. On October 28, Israeli Defence Forces declared to international media organizations Reuters and AFP that they could not guarantee the safety of their employees – which IPI called unacceptable as conflict parties have a responsibility to protect civilians, including journalists.
“At present, international journalists are generally not allowed to enter and report from the Gaza Strip. Limited international coverage in recent days has been strictly controlled by the Israeli Defence Forces”, IPI says.
“Under the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, journalists and media workers covering armed conflict must be treated and protected as civilians and must be allowed to report on events without undue interference. The intentional targeting of journalists, as civilians, is a war crime.”
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