‘Let us in’: Top journalists slam Israel’s media blackout in Gaza

A group of prominent journalists and editors have issued a public appeal urging Israel to end their refusal to allow international media access to Gaza, warning that the continued ban represents “an unacceptable restriction on our professional responsibility to inform readers, viewers and listeners accurately and impartially.”

In a letter published this week, the signatories wrote: “We write to request of Israel and Egypt that international media should be allowed to report from inside Gaza with immediate effect.” They expressed alarm that, over the past 19 months, Israel has rejected requests from international media to be allowed normal journalistic access to Gaza.

The statement emphasised the critical role of journalism amid war: “With the breakdown of the most recent ceasefire, restrictions on aid, and troops on the ground, it is critical that reporters are able to fulfil their important responsibility to report accurately, faithfully and independently, and to exercise the normal editorial judgements according to the highest ethical standards and journalistic practices.”

Read: British Jewish leaders break silence, condemn Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza

Commending Palestinian journalists in Gaza the groups said: “We note that local media have done an extraordinary job reporting on events while themselves being displaced, hungry and at constant risk, but they should not carry this burden alone”.

The group, which includes editors from ITV, Prospect, the Daily Mail and Index on Censorship, made clear that the ongoing refusal of access silences the people of Gaza: “Journalists are the first line of accountability. Refusal of access is therefore a denial of the voices of all in Gaza.”

The signatories include Charles Keidan (Alliance), Robert Peston (ITV), Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel (The News Agents), Alona Ferber (Prospect), Gabriel Pogrund (Sunday Times), Amie Ferris-Rotman (New Lines), and Dimi Reider and Haggai Matar (+972 Magazine), among others.

Their demand aligns with those of the Foreign Press Association and the Committee to Protect Journalists: “We support the Foreign Press Association and the Committee to Protect Journalists in calling on Israel and Egypt to allow media unfettered access to Gaza.”

However, the letter’s inclusion of Egypt has drawn some criticism. Middle East scholar Dr H A Hellyer argued that holding Cairo partially responsible is “rather bizarre,” noting that “Israel also made it clear early on that no one was to come through the Rafah crossing without Israeli consent.” He added that Israel bombed the crossing twice early in the war, asserting full control of Gaza’s access points, including Rafah. “If Israel did allow journalists to enter, it would be truly staggering if Cairo didn’t — on the contrary.” He suggested that credit and blame must be “allocated where it is warranted.”

I appreciate the sentiment, but the including of Egypt in the letter, as though Cairo is somehow as or even partially responsible as Tel Aviv for the access of journalists into Gaza is rather bizarre. Short thread: https://t.co/1PmocILOPt

— ᴅʀ ʜ.ᴀ. ʜᴇʟʟʏᴇʀ 🖖🏾 ⚜️ (@hahellyer) May 22, 2025

The group dismissed Israel’s claim that battlefield security necessitates the ban: “To suggest that the safety of journalists cannot be guaranteed is not a reason to deny access.” Journalists, they wrote, “are aware of the risks… that is their job and that is their calling: to report from some of the most troubled places in the hope that humanity will not avert its eyes.”

The letter warns that denying international journalists access impairs historical accountability: “The longer that international journalists are denied direct in-person contact, the harder it will be to write the first draft of this baleful history, to shine a light on the impact and learn lessons.”

They conclude with an appeal: “We therefore respectfully ask that the Jewish state and the Egyptian government end their prohibition on international journalists entering Gaza. Journalists must be allowed to do their jobs, independently, and without fear or favour.”

The call comes amid unprecedented risks for media workers in Gaza. According to international watchdogs, more journalists have been killed during Israel’s ongoing assault on the besieged enclave than in any other conflict in modern history. While Israel has barred independent international journalists, it has permitted access to embedded commentators such as Douglas Murray, raising concerns about the use of propaganda and the denial of impartial reporting.

READ: On World Press Freedom Day, UN says Journalists’ deaths in Gaza ‘deliberate’