More than 50 journalists working for British and American television stations, including the BBC and CNN, have written to the Israeli and Egyptian governments demanding “free and unhindered access” to Gaza for foreign media.
“Nearly five months after the start of the war in Gaza, foreign journalists are still refused access to this territory, apart from rare visits under escort by the Israeli army”, underline these journalists in their letter made public this Wednesday.
Furthermore, “it is essential that the safety of local journalists is respected and that their efforts are supported by the journalism of members of the international media,” said Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford.
More than fifty senior journalists across the broadcasting industry at @SkyNews @BBCNews @cnni @Channel4News @itn @NBCNews @abcnews @CBSNews have signed an open letter calling for 'unfettered access' to #Gaza https://t.co/FyBymkq9hv.
— Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) February 28, 2024
The signatories are correspondents or presenters based in London working for British television BBC, Sky News, ITV, Channel 4 and American television CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS.
“We call on the Israeli and Egyptian governments to allow all foreign media free and unhindered access to Gaza,” they write.
Alone on the ground, Palestinian journalists present before the conflict
“We call on the Israeli government to (…) allow international journalists to work in Gaza and for the Egyptian authorities to allow international journalists to access the Rafah crossing point,” they add.
Only a few media outlets, including AFP, have journalists in Gaza: these are Palestinians who were in the territory before the war triggered by the bloody attack on October 7 by Hamas in Israel.
Read alsoGaza: the UN is alarmed by an “almost inevitable widespread famine”
Since then, nearly 30,000 Gazans have been killed in the Gaza Strip, bombarded daily by the Israeli army.
The UN estimates that 2.2 million people, the vast majority of the population, are at risk of famine.
At least 85 journalists killed in Gaza
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 85 journalists and media workers have been confirmed dead in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
“More than three-quarters of the 99 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2023 died in the war between Israel and Gaza, the majority of them being Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza,” according to this committee.
CPJ documented 99 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2023 — more than three quarters of whom died in the Israel-Gaza war.
This 2023 global total is the highest since 2015 and an almost 44% increase from 2022.
Read more in our report: https://t.co/OvAnSdt8qC pic.twitter.com/Rvdw7rnryM
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) February 27, 2024
On January 7, two Al-Jazeera reporters were killed in Gaza, killed in a strike attributed to Israel.
“I can only assume that Israel does not allow journalists to work freely inside Gaza, because their soldiers are doing things that they do not want us to see,” accused Jeremy Bowen. , from the BBC.
“Reports by foreign journalists could confirm Israel's claim that, to use a common expression in Israel,
it is
the most moral army in the world
,” he continued, before add: “Or foreign journalists could uncover evidence that supports allegations of war crimes as well as the even more serious claim of genocide.”
“Until we enter, we will never know,” the journalist stressed.