Foreign Press Association slams Israel's ongoing ban on media access to Gaza

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) has sharply condemned Israeli authorities for maintaining their ban on foreign media access to the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by two years of Israel's genocidal war.

The group, representing hundreds of international journalists working in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Tuesday that Israel’s continued refusal to allow independent reporting from Gaza is “profoundly disappointing.”

“Instead of presenting a plan for allowing journalists into Gaza independently and letting us work alongside our brave Palestinian colleagues, [Israel] has decided once again to lock us out,” the association said, noting that the ban remains in place even after the ceasefire.

In a submission filed late Sunday to Israel's high court, the regime's authorities claimed that allowing international media to enter Gaza without military escort would pose security risks.

Israeli officials also claimed that opening Gaza to international media at this stage could interfere with efforts to locate the remains of the last captive held in Gaza.

The case stems from a 2024 petition filed by the FPA, demanding immediate and unrestricted access to the territory, arguing that Israel's sweeping ban amounts to a grave violation of press freedom.

The high court has repeatedly granted Israeli authorities several extensions to submit a plan addressing the issue. At a hearing last month, the court set January 4 as the final deadline for Israel's response.

The sustained restrictions come amid mounting criticism from international press freedom organizations, which say the blackout has helped conceal the scale of destruction in Gaza since Israel launched its genocidal war in October 2023.

With foreign journalists barred from entering, coverage of the war depended almost entirely on Palestinian reporters who worked under constant bombardment.

Press freedom groups say these journalists have been targeted with near-total impunity.

In early December, Gaza’s government media office reported that 257 Palestinian journalists had been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023.

The Gaza Media Office has given a higher death toll, reporting that 275 journalists have been killed.

A report released last month by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate’s Freedoms Committee said Israeli attacks had also killed at least 706 family members of Palestinian journalists since the war began.

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The report found that Israeli strikes have repeatedly hit journalists’ homes, shelters for displaced families, and areas widely known to house media workers and their relatives. In several incidents, entire families were wiped out, leaving the surviving journalists to document the destruction of their own households.

Rights groups warn that Israel’s ban, coupled with the unprecedented toll on Palestinian journalists, has created one of the most dangerous reporting environments in modern history.

The findings come as Israeli forces continue to violate the ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10, with breaches reported on a near-daily basis.

At least 420 people have been killed in Gaza since the truce was implemented three months ago. According to Palestinian health authorities, the overall death toll since the start of the war has reached 71,388, with 171,269 others wounded.

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