RIYADH: The Media Freedom Coalition, which promotes press freedoms worldwide, called Thursday for Israel to allow independent, foreign news organizations access to the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza.
“Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war,” said a joint statement signed by members of the coalition from 27 countries, including Britain, France and Germany.
The statement also condemned the violence directed against journalists and media workers, and called on Israeli authorities and all other parties “to make every effort to ensure that media workers in the conflict area can conduct their work freely and safely.”
“Deliberate targeting of journalists is unacceptable. International humanitarian law offers protection to civilian journalists during armed conflict,” the statement said, adding that every attack against media workers must be investigated and those responsible prosecuted.
The other signatories were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the Netherlands, and Canada.
Aside from rare guided tours, Israel has barred international media during the war, in which at least 242 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed.
A post on the United Nation's website on August 12, 2025, cited a UNESCO report saying that since October 2023, at least 62 journalists and media workers had been killed in the line of duty in Palestine, excluding deaths in circumstances unrelated to their work. It also cited a report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, saying that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the same time frame.
Since the Israeli invasion of Gaza in October 2023, at least 62,192 Palestinians have been killed according to a Gaza Health Ministry report on Thursday. Another two people have died from malnutrition-related causes, bringing the total number of such deaths to 271, including 112 children, the ministry said.
Hamas-led militants started the war when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Hamas says it will only free the rest in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
(With AP)
