Bold New Approaches Urged to Defend Press Freedom in Gaza
August 18, 2025
“My Case Reveals There Is Absolutely No Press Freedom in Vietnam”
August 18, 2025
August 18, 2025 – Palestine –
In her compelling Guardian commentary published on 18 August 2025, Nesrine Malik elevates the resilience, dignity, and professionalism of Gaza’s journalists—even as they face targeted violence and relentless danger. Malik introduces Tamer Almisshal, the veteran’s head of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau, who has witnessed the deaths of key colleagues—Hamza al-Dahdouh, Samer Abu Daqqa, and Anas al-Sharif—yet continues to lead a newsroom gripped by trauma, hunger, and loss.
Malik warns that the targeting of these journalists appears deliberate, part of a broader strategy enforced by Israeli operations to silence first-hand accounts that challenge official narratives. She points to the role of a so-called “legitimisation cell” that seeks to link reporters to Hamas, effectively discrediting their work—and notes how Western media often echo these smears without verification.
Despite the existential peril—including physical threats, starvation, and familial tragedy—Gaza’s journalists persist. Malik quotes survivors who affirm, “We are continuing,” even after the loss of entire teams. That determination, she argues, is what elevates their work beyond ordinary risk—it becomes a form of moral resistance.
The same article, reposted by USA Shafaqna, reinforces this narrative, highlighting both the professional excellence and the mortal danger that define Palestinian journalism during the conflict.
Together, the pieces underscore a tragic irony: those charged with witnessing Gaza’s bombardment, hunger, and displacement are themselves being targeted—threatened not merely as casualties of war, but as bearers of truth. In asserting that Gaza’s journalists are “talented, professional and dignified,” Malik insists on their humanity and integrity against a backdrop that seeks to erase both.
In telling their story, Malik reminds us that journalism—especially under fire—is not neutral. It is a lifeline to the world beyond siege, and Al-Jazeera’s reporters remain determined to keep it alive, even at the highest cost.
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