Since the beginning of the war, international journalists have not been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip unaccompanied. Several German media companies have now joined forces and demanded access from Israel and Egypt.
Since the beginning of the war, it has been almost impossible for international journalists to enter the Gaza Strip unaccompanied. Independent reporting is becoming increasingly difficult. A coalition of several German media outlets has now called on the governments of Israel and Egypt to change this in an open letter. They want unhindered access for their reporters.
“Almost a year of war, and your governments are still preventing us from gaining an unaccompanied and independent picture of the situation in Gaza,” the joint appeal states. “The almost complete exclusion of international media in a crisis of this enormous global scope is unprecedented in recent history.”
Signed by private and public media
The open letter is signed by editors-in-chief and directors of public and private national media houses: ARDZDF, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Zeit Online, taz, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Stern, Deutsche Welle, Bild, Welt, Arte, the editorial network Germany, Handelsblatt, RTL and n-tv as well as the organizations Reporters Without Borders and the German Journalists Association. Germany’s largest news agency dpa has also signed.
Monday’s letter is specifically addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “We are not a party to the conflict,” the media emphasize. Anyone who makes independent reporting on this war impossible is damaging their own credibility.
Journalists are aware of the risk
“Anyone who prohibits us from working in the Gaza Strip is creating the conditions for human rights to be violated.” The reporters are aware of the risk associated with their work in the Gaza Strip – and they are prepared to take it. The media are specifically demanding that Egypt allow them access to Gaza via the Rafah border crossing. The media houses are currently dependent on information from Palestinian reporters.
In the past, there have been several open letters from groups, including international media, demanding that Israel grant press freedom in Gaza. In November 2023, for example, 750 journalists around the world joined forces to campaign for independent reporting in the Gaza Strip.
Access only with Israeli army
In recent months, the media and journalists have repeatedly complained that unhindered access to the war scene is not possible. International journalists have only been able to travel to Gaza sporadically and accompanied by the Israeli army.
The conflict parties’ statements on the number of deaths and the course of the war differ significantly, and independent verification has so far been difficult.