Since the war in Gaza broke out with the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, the Israeli side has refused to allow journalists in, with the exception of those who have agreed to be embedded with the Israeli military.
In July of this year, several international news organizations demanded that reporters and photographers be allowed into the largely bombed-out area, but to no avail.
Now, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the French Journalists' Union have filed a lawsuit with the anti-terrorism prosecutor's chamber in Paris, accusing Israel of "impeding freedom of information" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement that the proceedings are the latest in a series of attempts to pressure Israel to open Gaza to international journalists:
“For over two years, the IFJ has been calling for borders to be opened to the international press so that they can ease the burden on our colleagues.”
According to the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), over 220 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the war.
