Calls for urgent international action to end the media blockade on Gaza and protect journalistsGG

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for urgent international action to end the media isolation imposed by the Israeli entity on journalists. The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor said in a statement today, Sunday, that Palestinian journalists continue to do their work under unprecedented risks, being subjected to killing, injury, and arrest by the Israeli occupation, and deprived of protective gear and professional equipment needed to do their job, which constitutes a violation of the parties’ obligation to respect and protect civilian journalists, as well as undermining basic guarantees for press freedom and the right to access information.

It explained that the Israeli authorities have continued since the start of the genocide to prevent the entry of protective equipment and essential journalistic tools, including bulletproof vests and helmets, cameras and lenses, batteries, lighting equipment, tripods, broadcasting and communication devices, power sources, data storage devices, and other professional equipment needed for media work, limiting journalists’ ability to work safely and independently, and obstructing the documentation of serious violations of international law and the preservation of related evidence.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory reminded that more than 262 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, while hundreds more have been injured or arrested. This is the highest toll recorded for media workers in any contemporary conflict, according to local and international journalistic and human rights organizations. It emphasized that preventing foreign journalists and independent international media from entering Gaza during this period, alongside the targeting of Palestinian journalists, undermines independent international monitoring of the crimes committed by the Zionist aggression there, limits the possibility of independently verifying facts, and hampers the documentation of evidence related to serious violations of international law. It added that targeting journalists, blocking independent international media, and depriving media workers of protective and professional equipment constitute a comprehensive policy to isolate Gaza media-wise, exclude independent witnesses, limit the documentation of violations and preservation of evidence, undermining the chances for investigation and accountability for crimes and entrenching impunity.