Gaza, 3 May 2025 – On World Press Freedom Day, Al Mezan reaffirms its commitment to uphold the fundamental principle of press freedom and unequivocally condemns Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza as a calculated component of its ongoing genocidal campaign.

Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have waged a relentless campaign of persecution against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in Gaza, involving targeted attacks, airstrikes, artillery shelling, sniper fire, quadcopter shootings, arbitrary arrests, and the deliberate destruction of media infrastructure. Journalists have been killed, injured, permanently disabled, or arbitrarily detained—while at home, at work, or attempting to flee with their families.

According to Al Mezan’s documentation, between 7 October 2023 and 3 May 2025, Israeli forces killed 255 Palestinian journalists and media workers, 31 of whom were women. An additional 409 journalists have been injured, and 48 others have been arbitrarily arrested. Since the beginning of 2025, 23 Palestinian journalists and media professionals—21 men and 2 women—were killed, underscoring that the campaign of persecution against the press in Gaza is far from over.

In one of the most egregious direct attacks on journalists, on 7 April 2025 near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Israeli forces deliberately targeted a journalists’ tent. The targeted strike killed two journalists—Helmi Al-Faqawi and  Ahmed Mansour—and injured seven others. One of the surviving and injured journalists, Abdulraouf Shaath, 33, told Al Mezan:

“I work as a freelance journalist. I was staying in a tent at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to cover developments and report on casualties, considering the hospital a relatively safe place. Many other journalists were also present, and we slept in tents near the hospital entrances to stay close to the unfolding events.

At around 1:20 a.m. on Monday, 7 April 2025, while I was asleep in a journalists’ tent near the eastern gate of the complex, I was suddenly awakened by a loud explosion and flying shrapnel. I rushed out of the tent and saw flames engulfing the Palestine Today agency’s tent, which was directly across from mine. I began filming the scene on my phone.

Inside the burning tent, I saw journalist Ahmad Mansour, a correspondent for Palestine Today, sitting on a chair behind a desk with flames consuming his body. I was in shock. I stopped recording and ran toward him, trying to save him. I grabbed his pants and legs to pull him out, but the fabric tore in my hands due to the intense heat. I moved to another angle to avoid the flames and made another attempt, but the fire was too intense.

Several fellow journalists and others nearby arrived, and we began pouring water bottles onto the fire until we were able to put out part of the flames on his body. With their help, I managed to pull him out. At that moment, I felt dizzy and collapsed. I later woke up in the emergency room, where doctors informed me that I had sustained burns to the fingers of my right hand while trying to rescue Ahmad. They reassured me about my condition.

In addition to direct targeting, journalists and media professionals in Gaza face immense operational challenges, including prolonged electricity blackouts, restricted internet access, repeated forced displacements, and constant disruption to daily life under Israel’s blockade and siege.

The Israeli military has also targeted TV and radio stations, news agencies, media training centers, media vehicles, and equipment; hijacked radio and television frequencies; and systematically prevented international media access to Gaza. Dozens of media institutions have been damaged or destroyed, with initial estimates placing financial losses to the media sector at approximately $400 million.^[1] Altogether, these actions severely hinder efforts to report from the ground and document Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.

In parallel, Palestinian voices on social media have faced widespread digital repression. For example, between October 2023 and September 2024, 7amleh – The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement documented over 5,100 instances of digital censorship on platforms such as Meta and X. According to 7amleh, “[t]hese violations are facilitated by discriminatory policies and restrictions on the social media accounts of Palestinian journalists and content creators.”

On World Press Freedom Day, Al Mezan extends its deepest condolences to the families of Palestinian journalists and media workers killed during Israel’s ongoing genocide. We wish a full and swift recovery to the wounded and call for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained media professionals. We honor the unwavering courage and resilience of Palestinian journalists who, despite relentless threats, continue to bear witness and speak truth to power.

Finally, we once again remind the international community of its legal and moral obligation to prevent and end the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The international community must act to provide effective protection for all media professionals and address Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists. Accountability is essential: those responsible for crimes against journalists, including the crime against humanity of persecution, must be investigated and held to account.

Gaza must be opened immediately to humanitarian aid, and independent investigators and journalists must be granted unimpeded access. Al Mezan calls on journalists, media institutions, and defenders of free expression worldwide to stand in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues, amplify their voices, and pressure their governments to take urgent and decisive action to protect them and uphold press freedom. Only through unwavering solidarity and accountability can press freedom be meaningfully upheld, and justice delivered to those working to expose the truth in Gaza.