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A decisive hearing before the Israeli Supreme Court on whether the press will have independent access to Gaza is due to take place on January 26. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) will be participating as amici curiae and call on the member states of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) to take concrete steps towards guaranteeing unrestricted, independent media access to the Gaza Strip. For more than two years, free movement in and out of the besieged territory has been prohibited, and more than 220 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army.
Nearly five months after a joint statement by 29 MFC member states called on Israel to allow press immediate independent access to Gaza and to protect journalists on the ground, the complete ban on media access remains in force. The ban has persisted since the start of the war over two years ago, despite the ceasefire plan that went into effect on October 10, 2025.
In a letter addressed to the foreign ministers of MFC member states — which includes the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada and France — RSF and CPJ urge these governments to:
- Send official representatives to attend the January 26 hearing before Israel’s Supreme Court concerning the second petition filed by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) seeking unrestricted independent access into Gaza for journalists.
- Make press freedom a priority in discussions with the new technocratic government — appointed under the US President’s plan to govern Gaza and led by Ali Shaath — beginning with the immediate lifting of the media blockade.
- Ensure that the International Stabilization Force (ISF) applies UN Security Council Resolution 2222, which recognizes journalists as civilians in times of conflict and guarantees both their protection and foreign media access to Gaza.
“Independent access to conflict zones is a fundamental principle of war reporting. The foreign press has been able to cover many recent high-intensity conflicts, from Iraq to Afghanistan to Ukraine. But in Gaza, the absence of foreign journalists is depriving the global public of independent information from diverse sources while dangerously isolating Palestinian journalists. The inaction of states around the world encourages censorship and sets a dangerous precedent for other conflicts, to the detriment of civilian populations, humanitarian aid and political decisions based on verified facts. We call on these governments to act without delay to defend the public’s right to unrestricted, independent and reliable news."
Thibaut Bruttin
RSF Director General
Having been admitted as an amicus curiae by the Israeli Supreme Court on October 23, 2025 along with CPJ, RSF will be represented in the courtroom on January 26 by its Director General Thibaut Bruttin and its Supreme Court lawyer Michael Sfard. RSF has emphasized that “The Supreme Court has the opportunity to finally uphold essential democratic principles in the face of propaganda, disinformation and widespread censorship and put an end to two years of the meticulous, unrestrained destruction of journalism in and about Gaza. No excuse, no restriction can justify keeping Gaza closed to international, Israeli and Palestinian media. That is the appeal we are making to the Israeli Supreme Court by joining the Foreign Press Association’s petition.”
More than 220 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war, including at least 68 slain while working, according to RSF data. On January 20, while the ceasefire, already repeatedly violated by the Israeli army, remained in force, an Israeli strike killed Mohammad Salah Qashta, Anas Ghneim and Abdul Raouf Samir Shaat, three freelance journalists who worked with international news agencies, while they were filming a report in the al-Zahra area south of Gaza City.
The 29 MFC member states that signed the statement on media access to Gaza are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
RSF and CPJ are members of the MFC Consultative Network.
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REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS / REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES (RSF)
Peter Jones
Press and Communications Manager, Washington, DC Bureau
pjones@rsf.org
(202) 813-9497, ext 3
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