Two French journalist unions have filed a legal complaint against "Israel" for obstructing the work of reporters in the Palestinian territories, including by denying access to Gaza, the groups announced Tuesday.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the French Journalists’ Union lodged the complaint last week with the Paris anti-terror prosecutor’s office, citing violations of press freedom in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The unions said the complaint is based on numerous testimonies from French journalists, whose identities are being withheld for security reasons.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger described the legal action as part of ongoing efforts to pressure "Israel" to allow international journalists into Gaza.

“For more than two years, the IFJ has been calling for the borders to be opened to the foreign press so that they can relieve our colleagues who are exhausted by two years of war,” Bellanger said.

The complaint also detailed an incident in the West Bank in which a journalist was chased by around 50 Israeli settlers armed with “guns, cans of petrol and sticks” while reporting in the presence of Israeli occupation forces. The unions argued the episode bears “the characteristic elements of a war crime.”

"Israel" has not permitted international journalists into Gaza since the outbreak of the war on Gaza in October 2023, except when embedded with the Israeli occupation forces. In July, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other media organizations urged "Israel" to facilitate the entry and exit of reporters from the blockaded territory.

The legal filing comes amid heightened violence in the West Bank that is still ongoing and increasing in intensity despite the truce in Gaza, which also continues to be violated by "Israel".

Read more: 'Generation of journalists in Gaza being wiped out': The Guardian

257 journalists killed in Gaza

The Israeli aggression on Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians. At least 257 journalists have also been killed since the outbreak of the war, many of whom were deliberately targeted after Israeli threats were leveled against them.

The Gaza Government Media Office, on Wednesday, condemned in the strongest terms the policy of targeted killings and systematic assassinations carried out by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian journalists. It called on the International Federation of Journalists, the Federation of Arab Journalists, and all press bodies worldwide to denounce these ongoing crimes against media workers in the besieged Strip.

The statement held the Israeli occupation, the United States administration, and other states involved in the genocide, particularly the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, fully responsible for what it described as “heinous and barbaric crimes” committed against journalists and civilians in Gaza.

The media office urged the international community and relevant global organizations to take immediate action to condemn these violations, pursue accountability at international courts, and pressure for an urgent halt to the genocidal war on Gaza. It reiterated the urgent need to protect journalists and end the continuous targeting and killing of media workers in the Strip.

Read more: Gaza has become 'worst graveyard' for journalists: The Guardian