The FPA is outraged by the Israeli military’s targeted killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza City last night. These colleagues were carrying out their duty as journalists and reporting on events as they occurred. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 179 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7. This must stop.

Over the past 22 months, the Israeli military has repeatedly labelled Palestinian journalists as militants, often without verifiable evidence, turning them into targets.

The Israeli government also continues to accuse Palestinian journalists, who have been bravely reporting throughout the war despite the great personal risk involved, of bias. It has also vilified foreign press reporting. At the same time, foreign journalists have been barred by Israel from entering Gaza independently for 22 months, which prevents us from reporting directly from the field.

We call on Israel to cease its attacks on journalists in Gaza and allow journalists to enter and report freely.

Statement attributed to the board of The Foreign Press Association