Israel's top court blocks foreign media from independently entering Gaza

Families, loved ones and colleagues of two journalists who were killed by Israel, including Hamza al Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera correspondent Wael al Dahdouh, attend funeral ceremony in Rafah, Gaza on January 7, 2024. (Photo/AA)

Israel's Supreme Court has rejected a request from international media organisations to allow independent access for journalists to report in besieged Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, and wounded nearly 59,000 since October 7.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents dozens of media organisations operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories, including The Associated Press, asked the court last month to order Israeli authorities to allow journalists to enter the besieged Palestinian enclave.

In a ruling on Monday, the court said that while it recognises the right of freedom of the press, the current wartime circumstances justify the restrictions.

It said that journalists inside Gaza could endanger invading Israeli soldiers by reporting about troop positions. It also said it was too dangerous for Israeli personnel to work at crossings at the fence separating Israel and Gaza.

Instead, it said that journalists could continue to enter Gaza under Israeli military escort. The army has offered limited opportunities for some media to "embed" with soldiers in short, highly controlled visits.

While the court acknowledged the shortcomings of this system, it called it a "balanced and reasonable policy" in the current circumstances. It offered to revisit the matter if the circumstances change.

Before Israel's war on Gaza began, foreign journalists entered and exited Gaza through the Erez crossing. The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza is closed to journalists as well.

Israel makes Gaza 'most dangerous ever' for journalists

The court's ruling comes amid the massacre of local Palestinian journalists by Israel.

Israel struck a car near Rafah in southern Gaza on Sunday, killing two Palestinian journalists who were reporting.

Hamza al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya were both freelancers. Al-Dahdouh had done freelance work for Al Jazeera and was the son of the Qatar-based TV station's chief correspondent in Gaza, Wael al Dahdouh. A third freelancer, Hazem Rajab, was wounded.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the killings were an "unimaginable tragedy" and that he was "deeply deeply sorry" for the Dahdouh family's loss. But he did not condemn Israel.

On Monday, two more Palestinian journalists were killed in fresh Israeli attacks on Gaza, pushing up the tally to 112 since October 7.

The number of journalists killed by Israel in Gaza is "exceedingly high," a UN associate spokesperson said on Monday.

"We've seen these horrifying reports. We're very concerned about the killing of journalists in Gaza. We know that the number is exceedingly high in the short amount of time that the conflict has been going on," Florencia Soto Nino told the reporters.

The Israeli invasion has also left Gaza in ruins, with 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and almost 90 percent of the 2.3 million residents uprooted amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

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Source: TRT