French journalists decry Israel's killings of Palestinian colleagues in open letter

At least 110 French journalists have issued an open letter decrying Israel's targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists since the start of the war in Gaza, and its attempts to silence media coverage concerning the onslaught.

The letter, signed by staff members from French daily newspaper La Provence, was written "in spirit and in solidarity with our colleagues in Palestine and Gaza".

“We, journalists at La Provence, who share the shores of the Mediterranean Sea with our Palestinian colleagues, cannot remain silent in the face of this unfolding horror. We cannot bring ourselves to remain silent, in the face of this massacre of journalists, with whom we share a profession: informing the world," the statement read.

The signatories said that "never before have so many reporters paid such a heavy price in a conflict," stressing that the journalists’ killings, perpetrated by the Israeli government, "will remain engraved in history".

La Provence journalists also pointed to the fact that the deliberate targeting of journalists was "at the heart" of a recent summit held in Marseille, southern France where the newspaper is based.

La Provence was a major partner of the event – but despite this, the French outlet will not go ahead with publishing the open letter, staff member Lyse Mauvais said.

Mauvais told The New Arab that La Provence’s editor-in-chief declined to publish the open letter as it was considered a "personal initiative" from the publication’s staff members, rather than something initiated by La Provence as an institution.

Instead, the editor-chief- offered to publish a small text informing readers about the journalists' open letter, and said there could be a possibility that it gets published next week.

The letter has been published in several French outlets instead, including Politis.

The statement also highlighted accusations levelled at the West world's double standards against Palestinians amid the war, which has killed over 56,000 Palestinians since 7 October, 2023 and displaced almost the enclave’s entire population.

"La Provence has 160 journalists. The number of Palestinian journalists killed is higher than our work collective. Would the world remain silent and inactive if this many French journalists had been murdered in this way?," the letter read.

When asked about what kind of outcome the statement's signatories hoped for, Mauvais said that they "want this message to reach our Palestinian colleagues, and for them to know that many of their [fellow journalists] stand in solidarity with them". 
"We also hope that other newsrooms and journalists in France will launch similar initiatives and take an active stand against the massacre unfolding against Palestinian journalists and their families," she added.

Israel’s attacks against Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 have made the past 21 months the deadliest period for media personnel since 1992.

As of June 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) estimated the journalists killed to 178, though the government media office in the war-hit territory has estimated the death to be well over 200.

Among those killed have been Hossam Shabat, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, Al Jazeera Arabic cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and freelance journalist Wafa al-Udaini.

Journalists’ family members, including spouses and children, have also been killed by Israeli fire amid the military onslaught.

Israeli forces have also deliberately struck journalists’ offices in the enclave, and damaged equipment. In May last year, the Israeli government went on to ban Qatari network Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel, closed its office in the country as well as in the occupied West Bank and seized its equipment.

The Israeli communications ministry claimed the network was a "propaganda and intelligence arm" of Palestinian group Hamas.

Israel’s deadly attacks have not been limited to Palestinians. During the outbreak of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, in parallel with the war in Gaza, Israeli forces targeted and killed Lebanese journalists covering the conflict.

Journalists from Syria and Iran have also been killed – the latter during Israel’s recent 12-day war.

Israel's targeting of Palestinian journalists has prompted Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to raise the alarm that "no journalists would be left to report from Gaza".