Israeli top court rejects foreign media appeal for Gaza access
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The court falsely asserted that allowing journalists in would expose potential "operational details" like IOF locations in ways that would "put them in real danger."
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Journalists observe as a Palestinian man wounded in Israeli strikes is brought to a hospital in Gaza on October 16. 2023 (AP)
The Israeli Supreme Court has dismissed a request by foreign media groups to grant journalists independent access to the besieged Gaza Strip.
"Israel" controls admission into Gaza and has not permitted foreign journalists to visit there freely since the war began on October 7.
The court claimed that the limitations were necessary on security grounds, since independent access by journalists may "endanger" Israeli occupation forces (IOF.)
The court falsely asserted that allowing journalists in would expose potential "operational details" like IOF locations in ways that would "put them in real danger."
With over 23,000 civilians killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes and over 58,000 wounded, it is clear the only people in danger in Gaza are Palestinians.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Al-Quds expressed disappointment at the ruling, expressing in a statement that the ban for 95 days straight is "unprecedented."
The Israeli court claims it is attempting to strike a balance between journalist and IOF safety and "freedom of the press".
It emphasized that international and Israeli media had restricted access to Gaza under Israeli military escort.
However, the FPA contested that the military escorts are limited to select media and highly controlled.
"We believe "Israel's" concerns about reporting on troop positions do not withstand scrutiny at a time when Palestinian journalists continue to operate in Gaza, and when it is vital for foreign press to access areas of Gaza where troops are not present," the FPA stated.
Murder of journalists ongoing in Gaza
The Government Media Office in Gaza announced on Sunday an increase in the number of journalist martyrs to 110 since the beginning of the genocidal war launched by "Israel" on the Gaza Strip after journalists Hamza Wael al-Dahdouh, Mustafa Thuraya, and Ali Salem Abu Ajwa were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Strip.
Two journalists were killed today by "Israel" in the #Gaza Strip, raising the death toll of journalists killed by the occupation since October 7 to 109.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 7, 2024
"Israel" continues to violate international laws through its aggressive actions in Gaza, indiscriminately targeting civilians,… pic.twitter.com/EZDX7yHNac
Local sources reported that an Israeli drone launched a missile toward the vehicle that Hamza Wael al-Dahdouh (29 years old), the son of veteran war correspondent Wael al-Dahdouh, and Mustafa Thuraya were in, resulting in their martyrdom.
Another individual was injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted journalists in the al-Mawassi area west of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Later, in a separate strike, Ali Salem Abu Ajwa, another journalist, was martyred during the Israeli occupation’s bombing of Gaza City.
In a statement, Hamas declared that the targeting of journalists Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya is a deliberate Zionist war crime, aiming to terrorize journalists and prevent them from conveying the truth and covering their humanitarian crimes in the Gaza Strip.
This comes as the occupation continues to target media and journalist crews in the Gaza Strip, in its ongoing attempts to obscure facts, conceal the truth, and prevent the reporting and documentation of its aggression and massacres.
Journalists in the Gaza Strip face significant risks, particularly as they attempt to cover the events of the ongoing aggression, Israeli airstrikes, communication cuts, shortage of supplies, and widespread power outages.
