Nearly 200 journalists, photographers and war correspondents, as well as leading press freedom organisations, have signed a petition demanding “urgent and unhindered access to Gaza for foreign media, and respect for the protected status of journalists under international law so they can report from Gaza.”
The petition was signed by leading journalists working for global news organisations, as part of the Freedom of the Press Initiative, launched by award-winning photographer Andre Liohn.
The signatories include leading international journalists Christiane Amanpour, Lindsey Hilsum, Mehdi Hassan and war photographer Don McCullin, as well as the Association of European Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, the Association of European Journalists said.
They reiterated their earlier call on both Israel and Hamas to allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza to report independently on the war, something they have been banned from doing since the start of the last conflict in 2023.
The petition further states that if the “warring parties” ignore the appeal, media professionals will be supported to enter Gaza without consent “by any legitimate means, alone, collectively or in coordination with humanitarian or civil society actors”.
“Unrestricted, independent access for foreign journalists is urgently needed, not only to document the crimes being committed, but also to ensure that the truth about this war is not dictated by those who control the weapons and the narrative,” the petition reads, as reported by Sky news.
“Gaza is the most pressing case, but it is not the only one. It reflects the most serious pattern of silencing journalists and restricting the press. If the democratic world is truly to counter this erosion of freedom, it must not turn a blind eye to Gaza. “Defending press access there means defending press freedom everywhere,” it said.
The worst-case scenario of starvation is currently unfolding in Gaza, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative by United Nations agencies that works to identify hunger conditions, warned on July 29.
Between May and July, the number of households experiencing extreme hunger doubled, while the malnutrition rate rose from 4.4 in May to 16.5 in July, the IPC said in a warning, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
The latest figures suggest that famine thresholds have been reached in much of the war-torn Palestinian enclave, where about 2.1 million people still live.
Israel controls all access to Gaza, but rejects accusations that it is responsible for the food shortage.
The statement, signed by 111 organizations, including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Refugees International, warned that hunger in Gaza is spreading rapidly, while crucial aid, such as food, water and medicine, remains blocked at the border, as humanitarian organizations are prohibited from operating.
