Beirut, December 7, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Israeli authorities arrested journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout in Gaza along with members of his family, and calls for his immediate release.
Palestinian journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout, chief bureau correspondent for the Qatari-funded London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, was arrested from the Al-Souk area in Beit Lahya, a city in northern Gaza, along with an unknown number of family members on December 7, according to a statement by his outlet and a report by Beirut-based news website Al-Modon.
“We are deeply concerned by reports of the arrest of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout in northern Gaza along with his family members,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour, in Washington, D.C. “The Israeli army should disclose his location, release him immediately, and take steps to ensure the safety of all journalists covering this war, especially those in Gaza who face imminent harm.”
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed is one of the few pan-Arab news outlets that still have a physical presence in northern Gaza. The outlet reported that they lost communication with Al-Kahlout around noon on December 7, and later learned of his arrest from his family.
Al-Kahlout was arrested at gunpoint and was forced to leave his disabled daughter behind, his outlet reported, adding that Israeli soldiers allegedly beat and stripped Al-Kahlout and the others arrested with him.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed’s editor-in-chief, Hussam Kanafani, said the outlet was working to determine the whereabouts of Al-Kahlout and secure his release, charging that Israel deliberately “arrests, targets, and kills journalists” to prevent documentation of crimes.
Since the war began on October 7, CPJ has documented 18 arrests of journalists in the West Bank and one—Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian contributor to multiple media outlets—in Gaza. CPJ is still investigating reports of three additional journalists’ arrests in Gaza, and several arrest reports in the West Bank.
As of December 7, CPJ’s investigations show at least 63 journalists and media workers are among more than 17,000 killed since the October 7 start of the Israel-Gaza war, with more than 16,000 deaths in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank and about 1,200 in Israel. This deadly toll is coupled with harassment, detentions, and other reporting obstructions in the region.
CPJ’s email requesting comment from the North America Desk of the Israel Defense Forces did not immediately receive a response.