Gaza journalists killed as world marks Press Freedom Day

As the world marked World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, journalists and media institutions in Gaza observed the occasion not with celebration, but mourning and condemnation.

In a statement released Saturday, the Gaza media office accused Israel of systematically targeting the press, stating that journalists in the Strip "are being slaughtered live on air by Israeli occupation weapons, while the world watches and celebrates in silence".

Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 212 journalists and media workers, wounded 409 others—some suffering amputations—and arrested 48 known journalists. It is the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded.

"Gaza, and at its heart, its heroic journalists, marks this day in another language: the language of blood, hunger, tears, and ashes," the office declared.

"While the world celebrates press freedom, the blood of Palestinian media workers runs in the streets of Gaza," they added.

The statement described the campaign as a "systematic media genocide", asserting that "the Israeli occupation authorities have committed crimes that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. No institution or individual has been spared from this war".

Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups reported Saturday that since the war began, Israeli forces have arrested or detained approximately 180 journalists.

As of now, 49 journalists remain in detention, all arrested after 7 October, in addition to six who were already imprisoned. The crime of enforced disappearance is being carried out against at least two journalists, Nidal Al-Wahidi and Haitham Abdel Wahid, whose fates remain unknown.

According to a joint statement by the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, the Palestinian Prisoners Club, and Addameer, 19 of the detained journalists are being held under administrative detention—a practice the groups called "the most prominent crime escalated by the occupation after the genocide".

They said it aims to suppress free speech, censor reporting, and prevent journalists from exposing crimes "that affect every aspect of Palestinian life". Among the detainees is veteran journalist Nidal Abu Akar, who has spent nearly 20 years in Israeli prisons, most of it without charge or trial.

The Gaza media office also reported that 143 media institutions have been targeted since the beginning of the war, including 12 newspapers, 23 online publications, 11 radio stations, and four satellite channels.

Offices of 12 regional and international channels were also destroyed, along with 44 homes belonging to journalists. Broadcast equipment, cameras, and vehicles have been damaged or destroyed, while multiple digital platforms and accounts have been suspended under vague claims of "violating standards",

Estimated damages to the media sector exceed $400 million.

The office called for urgent international action, including "an immediate and independent investigation into crimes against journalists", urgent protection for Palestinian journalists,” and referring these crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Hamas also issued a statement calling on international legal and rights groups to criminalise Israel’s violations against journalists, expose them globally, and ensure protection for those covering what the group describes as an ongoing genocide.

"The occupation’s crimes will not succeed in silencing voices or erasing the Palestinian narrative," the statement read.

Reporters Without Borders warned that Israel has "escalated its massacres of journalists", killing nearly 200, including at least 43 while on duty.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights also stated that the killings appear intentional and systematic, aiming “to terrorize and silence journalists and prevent them from documenting the genocide.