On 11 August, Israel’s government approved a proposal to renew the ban on the Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen TV for "security reasons". Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi signed an order to confiscate its equipment and block its websites in Israel , claiming on ‘X’ that their journalists are “terrorist representatives”.
Al-Mayadeen TV was the first foreign channel blocked by the government on 13 November 2023, in line with the emergency regulations approved on 20 October, that allow the temporary ban of media outlets alleged to “undermine national security”. Following the move, the IFJ expressed its serious concerns over the mentioned ban, which censors critical media that do not confirm the government’s narrative.
However, Israel’s government is not only targeting critical media, but also slandering Gaza’s journalists with unproven allegations of being terrorism accomplices that put their lives at risk.
On 10 August, the spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)’s Arabic media division, Avichay Adraee, said on ‘X’ that he is “convinced” that Al Jazeera reporter and Gaza’s journalist, Anas Al-Sharif, “is covering up the crimes of Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad taking shelter inside schools”. Adraee stated that Al-Sharif “knows the names of a great number of the Hamas terrorists among those killed in the school”. The Israeli military struck a school in Gaza City, where about 6,000 displaced Palestinians were sheltering, killing at least 80 people on 10 August. According to the Israeli army, the attack was targeting militants.
Following the IDF’s spokesperson allegations against its media staff, Al Jazeera issued a statement condemning Adraee’s incitement against its correspondent and its staff in Gaza, and described it “a blatant act of intimidation and incitement”.
The IFJ is extremely concerned about the safety of Gaza’s journalists, including Anas Al-Sharif, in the face of unproved allegations by Israeli officials that endanger the lives of Palestinian reporters at risk and the terrible number of journalists in Gaza that have already been killed. The Federation recalls that the Israeli accusations violate UN Security Council Resolutions 2222/2015 and 1738/2006, which condemn international attacks against journalists and media workers in situations of armed conflict.
Furthermore, allegations made by Israeli high-ranking officials against Gaza’s journalists are not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern that reflects the Israeli government policy of first delegitimising the work of journalists and then targeting them.
On 31 July, Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami Al-Rifi were killed in an Israeli airstrike near Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, two hours after appearing on Al Jazeera’s live broadcast. An Israeli drone targeted the car, reportedly identifiable as a press vehicle, where Al-Ghoul and Al-Rifi were travelling on assignment, UNESCO reported.
Following widespread condemnation, the IDF admitted on 1 August that it had killed Al Jazeera journalist Al-Ghoul, arguing that the journalist's name appears on a list of "senior Hamas officers" that it captured earlier. Allegations that the reporter’s employer, Al Jazeera, denied immediately.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “Severe allegations such as comparing Gaza’s journalists to terrorists put the lives of reporters at risk and make them a target of attacks. We strongly condemn the incitement to murder made by Israeli government officials against Palestinian journalists. The international technology platforms that publish their allegations and hateful messages must take appropriate measures to remove it ”.
Regarding the targeted killing of journalist Ismail Al Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al-Rifi, the IFJ Deputy General Secretary Tim Dawson stated: “If IDF’s evidence against Gazan journalists is so clear, why do they choose to kill them, when they have the chance to prosecute? [...] The only plausible explanation of Israel’s army deliberately targeting journalists is that this is an attempt to control the war narrative, and show that the IDF takes out civilian targets at will.”
According to the IFJ’s data, at least 122 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the war started on 7 October 2023.