Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory / Middle East & North Africa

The Committee to Protect Journalists is monitoring the impact of the current military escalation between Israel, the U.S. and Iran and its spillover across the Middle East on journalists and media workers.  Since the Iran war broke out on February 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran and Tehran retaliated with attacks…

Amman, March 19, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that at least three journalists were assaulted, and two of them detained, by Israeli security forces outside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on March 17 while covering worshippers attempting to pray at the holy site that authorities have closed under emergency measures during…

Amman, March 9, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of Palestinian journalist Amal Shamaly, a correspondent for Qatar Radio, in an Israeli strike early Monday on tents housing displaced people in central Gaza. According to reports, the strike west of the village of Az-Zawayda, killed Shamaly, two other people and injured…

Amman, February 26, 2026 –– The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israeli authorities to lift their recent ban on five Palestinian news outlets, which Israel has designated “terrorist organizations,” placing them under security restrictions typically reserved for armed groups. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz signed an order on Sunday banning several privately-owned platforms —…

Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Palestinian journalist Ahmed Abdel Aal remembers the moment the ear-splitting music started. For five days, he said, he was held blindfolded in a room in an Israeli detention site, stripped and beaten, while loud Hebrew and English songs played at an unrelenting…

New York, January 26, 2026—As Israel’s Supreme Court considers petitions on Monday challenging the ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza, the Israeli government has simultaneously doubled down on restrictions against foreign media operating inside Israel. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately allow foreign journalists to freely enter and report…

Amman, January 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a transparent investigation after three journalists were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in central Gaza during an ongoing ceasefire.  According to news reports, the three were killed while on assignment for the Egyptian Committee, which oversees Egypt’s humanitarian work…

Amman, December 16, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by the harrowing public testimony given on Sunday by Palestinian freelance journalist Sami al-Sai, who described experiencing alleged torture and sexual violence while in Israeli prison. The journalist, who has reported for the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera Mubasher and the local broadcaster…

Two years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, press freedom inside the country has reached a breaking point. Journalists report escalating censorship, harassment, and self-censorship that, they say, now functions as “part of the war effort.” Independent reporting has sharply declined, leaving the Israeli public with a distorted view of the conflict. An October 2025 report…

Update: The total number of journalists and media workers killed in 2025 is now 127, exceeding the 2024 record. New York, December 10, 2025一With more than three weeks still to go to the end of the year, the number of journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025 already equals 2024’s record figures, data gathered…