US Lawmakers and Rights Groups Sound Alarm Over Israel’s Targeting of Journalists in Gaza

December 04, 2025 – General –

A coalition of U.S. lawmakers and leading human rights and press-freedom organizations is preparing to deliver one of the strongest public condemnations yet of Israel’s treatment of journalists in Gaza. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Amnesty International USA, and members of Congress will gather in Washington to address what they describe as a systematic and escalating pattern of attacks on media workers since the start of the war.

The press conference, scheduled for December 5, reflects a deepening concern within the international community over the unprecedented toll on journalists covering the conflict. According to CPJ, more reporters have been killed in Gaza in the past year than in any conflict it has monitored since the organization began documenting journalist fatalities in 1992. The scale of violence, the group says, cannot be explained as accidental or incidental to combat operations.

Organizers of the event argue that Israeli forces have repeatedly obstructed media access, targeted known press convoys, and used measures that place journalists directly in harm’s way. They also highlight the near-total ban on foreign correspondents entering Gaza, a restriction they say has left local Palestinian journalists — many working without protective gear or safe corridors — to shoulder the full burden of documenting the war’s impact.

Members of Congress joining the conference are expected to call for independent investigations into alleged violations and demand that the U.S. government place greater pressure on Israel to protect journalists as required under international humanitarian law. Some lawmakers have already warned that American aid must not support practices that endanger journalists or obstruct the free flow of information.

Amnesty International USA and CPJ will present documented cases of reporters killed, injured, or detained, arguing that these incidents form a clear pattern rather than isolated missteps. They say that attempts to silence journalists ultimately deprive civilians — and the world — of vital evidence and firsthand truth in a war zone where misinformation and denial are widespread.

The coalition hopes the event will catalyze broader global action. For press-freedom advocates, the message is clear: protecting journalists in Gaza is not simply an ethical imperative but a prerequisite for accountability, truth, and any future justice process. As one CPJ representative noted ahead of the conference, “When journalists are targeted, the world goes blind.”

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Members of Congress, CPJ, Amnesty International USA to hold press conference about Israel’s systematic targeting of journalists