News leaders around the world pledge support for journalists in Gaza
Nearly 60 leaders from international and regional news media signed a letter on Thursday and Friday expressed their support for journalists covering the war in Gaza, calling for their safety and the freedom to do their work amid great personal risks.
The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists with the support of the World Association of News Publishers, also called on Israeli authorities to protect journalists as non-combatants as required by international law, adding that those who responsible for violations of those protections should be held accountable.
“These journalists – whom the international news media and the international community rely on for information on the situation in Gaza – continue to report despite serious personal risks,” the letter says of the Palestinian media workers doing the reporting on the ground. “They continue despite the loss of family, friends and colleagues, the destruction of homes and offices, continued displacement, communications disruptions and shortages of food and fuel.”
Signatories include leaders from The Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times and regional media in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Palestinian journalists have faced serious risks or personal loss while trying to cover the war: some were injured while reporting; others have lost family members and colleagues. Several have quit because of the challenges. At least 94 journalists have been killed in the war since October 7, making this the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began collecting data in 1992, according to the organization. Israeli and Egyptian authorities have banned international media from entering Gaza, and journalists from other major news outlets have been evacuated, making the true scale of the war impossible to grasp.
According to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, most media workers killed during the war were Palestinians, and many of them were killed along with their families in airstrikes. Some human rights groups have said Israel has targeted journalists, although Israel has repeatedly denied the accusation.
The letter caused reactions among some journalists who said they or their colleagues were punished by their news organizations for affirming their support for Palestinian journalists and citizens in letters highly critical of Israeli war tactics in Gaza.
When journalists have resigned or been fired for protesting the war between Israel and Hamas, news organizations have said that expressing views violates their editorial policy.