76 Gaza journalists killed in Israeli airstrike; 39 killed in car at home
In the Gaza Strip, 76 journalists covering the war were killed in Israeli airstrikes, and at least 39 journalists were killed in their homes and offices in Israeli airstrikes.
Journalists are stranded in the Ghazi district, with access to the border blocked, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced on the 30th of last month that most of the 76 journalists who have died in the Gaza Strip since October 7 were killed in Israeli airstrikes, and 38 of them died at home, in their vehicles, or with their families.
Vivian Yee, a Middle East reporter for the New York Times, said, “The true scale of death and destruction is impossible to determine, and due to internet and cell phone blackouts that hinder communication and a ban on international journalists, reporting as a local reporter in Gaza is extreme. “Details are blurred and obscured, often at risk to lives,” he said. “As each week passes, those documenting the war leave, quit or die, making reporting from Gaza so dangerous that it is meaningless for some local journalists.” revealed.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said more journalists and media workers have been killed in the past 16 weeks, including essential support workers such as interpreters, drivers and repairmen, than in any one year of conflict since 1992, according to NYT Gaza's Al Arabiya, a popular Arabic-language TV channel in the Arab world. “Israel is afraid of the Palestinian story and Palestinian journalists,” Earth TV journalist Khaula al-Khalidi, 34, told the NYT. “They are trying to silence us by cutting off the network.”
The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate, whose members include journalists from Gaza and the West Bank, said at least 25 of the Gaza journalists were wearing bulletproof vests emblazoned with the word "Press" when they were killed. said in
After the surprise attack on October 7, Israel attempted to cut off damage to the communications network by cutting off most of the Gaza Strip's electricity and blocking all entry into the Gaza Strip except for the occasional relief shipment.
It is nearly impossible for most isolated Gazans to be interviewed by foreign media outlets, and communications have been completely eliminated at least five to six times during the conflict, the NYT said.
Reporting from within the Ghazi district provided a limited and selective view of the war, with a small number of reporters visiting the battlefield for very short periods of time with Israeli troops.
A CNN correspondent briefly reported on the interior of the Gaza Strip after entering the area with an Emirati aid group.
Other than this, only reporters stationed in the isolated Gaza Strip are covering the war, and casualties are increasing.
Several major international media outlets, including the New York Times, evacuated Palestinian reporters from the Gaza Strip, and some Western media companies still have local reporting teams in the Gaza Strip.
Due to the border blockade, foreign reporters have repeatedly attempted to enter Israel and Egypt against Gaza border controls, but have all been turned away, the NYT said.
Local journalists in the Gaza Strip mainly work for local Arabic-language media outlets such as Palestine and Al Jazeera, and young freelancers who have no means of communication other than Instagram are conveying the reality of the Gaza Strip to outsiders.
They wear instantly recognizable navy blue ‘press’ vests and are attracting attention on social media with videos and photos of vivid on-site coverage of the war.
Amr Tabash (26), a freelance photojournalist in the Gaza Strip, said, “Every time I run to capture the aftermath of an airstrike, I feel afraid that my family may be among the victims.” He added, “While covering one bombing site, I saw my uncle and cousin. “I found out he was murdered,” he told the NYT.
"I have to be completely focused on reporting," he said of the Israeli attack. "But I'm always worried about my family, and that's a big part of my focus."
Motaz Aziza, a photojournalist who gained many followers on Instagram for his coverage of the war in Gaza, evacuated to Qatar last week.
“We are not just reporting what is happening. We are part of what is already happening,” said Al Arabiya reporter al-Khalidi. “I have never thought of leaving journalism. “I’ve never done it before, but the job has become impossibly difficult and much worse than previous wars I’ve covered,” he told the NYT.
“We have never and will never intentionally target journalists,” Israeli military spokesman Nir Dinar told the New York Times. “But we warned that remaining in an active combat zone carries risks.”
He responded to accusations that Israel was deliberately blocking communication networks to hide the war, calling it "bloody defamation."