Tel aviv: More than 250 media outlets from over 70 countries blacked out their front pages and website homepages, and interrupted their broadcasts on Monday to protest the killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip. The action is part of a global demonstration against the ongoing violence that has claimed the lives of media professionals in the region.
According to Ghana News Agency, Reporters Without Borders, which organized the protest, reported that 220 journalists have been killed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip in less than two years. The organization’s Director General, Thibaut Bruttin, stated, “At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed. This isn’t just a war against Gaza, it’s a war against journalism.”
The Israeli military maintains that its operations target the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and other terrorist organizations, emphasizing efforts to spare civilians. The military has also accused journalists in Gaza of affiliations with Hamas or involvement in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which escalated the current conflict.
Following the deaths of five journalists in an attack last week, Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir expressed regret over the loss of civilian lives. Despite this, Bruttin accused the Israeli forces of deliberately targeting, killing, and defaming journalists. He called for the protection of Palestinian journalists and suggested that other countries should offer asylum to those wishing to leave Gaza.
Reporters Without Borders has also called for independent access for foreign media to the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict began, Israel has restricted foreign journalists’ visits to the territory, allowing only those “embedded” with the Israeli military.
In response to the protest, Israel’s Foreign Ministry criticized the media blackout, claiming it reflects a global media bias against Israel. The ministry stated, “The reports we see in the global media regarding Gaza do not tell the real story there. They tell the campaign of lies that Hamas spreads,” as published on X.