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January 21, 2025 – Palestine/Israel –
Following the January 15, 2025, ceasefire in Gaza, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for immediate access for journalists and an end to the impunity surrounding Israeli attacks on the press. RSF is urging that both international and Palestinian journalists be granted entry to Gaza to report freely and safely. They argue that open borders are essential to documenting the truth, countering misinformation, and holding all parties accountable for actions during the war.
RSF emphasized the urgent need to evacuate wounded journalist Fadi al-Wahidi, an Al Jazeera cameraman critically injured by Israeli gunfire on October 9, 2024, in Jabalia camp. Despite repeated calls for medical evacuation, Israeli authorities have refused to allow him to leave Gaza, where medical services remain overwhelmed and under-resourced.
Since the outbreak of war in October 2023, nearly 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed, with RSF and other groups suggesting that some were deliberately targeted. Gaza-based journalists have continued to report under dire conditions—without electricity, adequate shelter, or food—often working from hospitals or destroyed buildings. RSF highlighted the destruction of Gaza’s media infrastructure and called for its urgent reconstruction as a priority in the post-war recovery.
In addition to the situation in Gaza, RSF raised concerns about repression in the West Bank, where Palestinian journalists face arrest, harassment, and censorship. Israel is now one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to RSF.
The organization has filed four complaints to the International Criminal Court (ICC) since November 2023, accusing Israel of committing war crimes against journalists. RSF argues that these attacks not only violate international law but also aim to suppress independent coverage of the conflict.
RSF insists that the ceasefire must not mean silence. They demand the protection of journalists, access for foreign media, justice for slain reporters, and the rebuilding of Gaza’s shattered media landscape. The organization maintains that press freedom is a pillar of accountability, and without it, justice and truth will remain out of reach.
Reference –
Gaza ceasefire: RSF calls for open borders for journalists – end to impunity for Israel’s war crimes
