An IDF soldier approaches Al-Jazeera reporter Elias Karram a few miles from the Gaza border on October 14. More soldiers arrived and told Karram and his crew to leave. Karram said in the video that “this is happening everywhere we go.” (Screen shot: Al-Jazeera/CPJ)
By Mohamed Mandour on October 20, 2023
Since the Israel-Gaza conflict started on October 7, journalists and media across the region have faced a hostile environment that has made reporting on the war exceptionally challenging.
CPJ’s research has found more than 10 incidents of assaults, arrests, threats, cyberattacks, and censorship targeting journalists while carrying out their work in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. These actions have prompted calls by press and other organizations to ensure journalists’ safety.
In Gaza, the risks remain acute. Israel has responded to Hamas’ October 7 attack on its territory with air strikes and ground raids into the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the militant Palestinian group.
CPJ is investigating reports that dozens of media offices in Gaza were damaged, leaving many journalists with no safe place to do their jobs, as they also contend with extensive power outages, food and water shortages, and sometimes have to flee with their families.
“Journalists in Gaza are facing exponential risk,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “But their colleagues in the West Bank and Israel are also facing unprecedented threats, assaults, and intimidation to obstruct their vital work covering this conflict.”
Journalists from outlets including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, RT Arabic, and Al-Araby TV have reported obstructions to their reporting by the Israeli police, military, and others since the conflict began. Some of those incidents include:
Assaults
On October 16, journalist and columnist Israel Frey went into hiding, after his home was attacked the previous day by a mob of far-right Israelis after he expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, according to Haaretz and Middle East Eye.
On October 12, BBC Arabic reporters Muhannad Tutunji, Haitham Abudiab, and their team were dragged from their vehicle, searched, and held at gunpoint by police in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, despite their vehicle being marked “TV” in red tape and Tutunji and Abudiab presenting their press cards to police, the broadcaster reported. The BBC said Tutunji was struck on the neck and his phone was thrown on the ground while trying to film the incident.
In response, the Israeli police issued a statement, quoted by the BBC, that its officers noticed “a suspicious vehicle and stopped it for inspection” and searched the vehicle “for fear of possession of weapons.”
On October 7, Sky News Arabia said that its team in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon was assaulted by Israeli police. The channel’s correspondent, Firas Lutfi, described how the police pointed rifles at his head, forced him to undress, confiscated their phones, and escorted them out of the area, according to Sky News Arabia and the Cairo-based Alwafd news.
Arrests
On October 18, two Palestinian journalists Alaa Rimaway and Imad Abu Awad were arrested by the Israel Defence Forces, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and New Arab.
On October 16, four Palestinian journalists—Mustafa Al-Khawaja, Sabri Jabr, Abdel Nasser Al-Laham, and Muath Amarna—were arrested in the West Bank by the IDF, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and New Arab.
CPJ spoke with the families of four of the six journalists who confirmed the arrests and said they believed their relatives had been arrested because of their social media commentary on the conflict.
Threats
On October 15, RT Arabic correspondent Dalia Nammari and her crew, which held Israeli press cards, were stopped by Israeli police at the border for identity checks, according to RT Arabic and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate. One officer threatened Dalia with his weapon and they warned the crew not to return to the location or else they risked arrest, those sources said.
On October 15, a video posted by Al-Araby TV depicted an Israeli police officer shouting and swearing at their correspondent while he was reporting live from Ashdod in southern Israel. The journalist said on air that the officer was armed.
On October 14, Al-Jazeera shared footage from an area in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip known as the Gaza envelope showing four IDF soldiers ordering Al-Jazeera journalists to stop filming and leave the area immediately. The incident was also covered by Arabia News 24.
CPJ’s emails requesting comment on these incidents from the IDF spokesperson for North America and the Israeli police did not receive any replies.
Cyberattacks
On October 18, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, experienced a cyberattack that disrupted its news website, according to Wafa and Roya News. “This attack is part of a broader effort to suppress Palestinian media and silence platforms of truth,” Wafa said. CPJ was unable to determine who carried out the attack.
On October 9, The Jerusalem Post reported that its website was down due to a series of cyberattacks the previous day. The group Anonymous Sudan claimed responsibility for these attacks on Telegram, Axios and Time magazine reported.
Censorship
On October 16, Israel proposed new emergency regulations that would allow it to halt media broadcasts that harm “national morale.” Officials have threatened to close Al-Jazeera’s local offices under this proposed rule, and to block the global news outlet from freely reporting on the war.
On October 16, the IDF ordered the West Bank-based J-Media agency to shut down, according to the Palestinian press freedom group MADA and New Arab. In a statement, IDF described the media outlet as “an illegal organization” and said the closure was necessary for “the sake of the security of the State of Israel and for the safety of the public and public order,” those sources said, adding that J-Media complied and ceased its operations immediately. J-Media provides footage and media services to broadcasters and covers Palestinian news, according to press freedom group SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom and CPJ’s review of its website.
See CPJ’s list of journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war
Explore our safety resources for journalists covering conflict