I was a journalist in Gaza. The place I call home is gone now.
I was 13 when my father moved our family from Libya back to my parents’ hometown of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. It was 1994, a time of optimism. Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization had signed the Oslo Accords and Palestinians were heading toward an independent state. Gaza, with its successful businesspeople and its…
FAQ: How CPJ documents journalist deaths in the war
How many journalists have died since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7? Dozens have died; see an updated list here. How do these numbers compare to prior conflicts? There have been more journalists killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than in any other similar period of conflict since CPJ started recording such deaths in…
Q&A: Journalist Shrouq Al Aila on what cameras can’t show about the war in Gaza
Gaza journalists Shrouq Al Aila and Roshdi Sarraj were on a work trip in Saudi Arabia last fall when their home became a war zone. The married couple quickly returned to Gaza to report and to be with their community. But Sarraj, the founder of local production company Ain Media, would only manage to produce…
Israeli authorities confiscate AP equipment broadcasting live feed of Gaza
Update: AP reported that Israeli authorities said they would return the equipment after widespread backlash from press freedom advocates and a White House request. The live feed was restored Wednesday morning. Beirut, May 21, 2024 — Israeli authorities must return the equipment they confiscated from The Associated Press in southern Israel and stop harassing and censoring journalists covering…
CPJ welcomes ICC warrant applications for Hamas and Israeli leaders
New York, May 20, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the International Criminal Court’s announcement on Monday that it was seeking arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The ICC’s application for arrest warrants for crimes against humanity in Israel and Palestine recognizes atrocities committed against civilians,”…
CPJ calls on FBI to release timeline for conclusion of Shireen Abu Akleh investigation
Washington, D.C., May 10, 2024—Two years after the Israeli military killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed at the continued lack of accountability in the case. CPJ calls on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to release a timeline for the conclusion of its now 18-month…
Palestinian journalist Rula Hassanein charged with incitement for social media posts
New York, May 8, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday urged Israeli authorities to release Palestinian freelance journalist Rula Hassanein on humanitarian grounds as her health and that of her infant daughter had deteriorated since Hassanein’s March arrest over her social media posts. On March 19, Israeli military forces arrested Hassanein, who…
Why impact of Israel-Gaza war has become harder to document
Israel’s surprise attack on Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza on March 18, and the two weeks of fighting that followed, resulted in hundreds of deaths and a trail of destruction. It also left a morass of contradictory information about exactly who was killed there, who was arrested, and who went missing. As the Israel-Gaza war…
CPJ calls for investigation into Israeli shooting at 2 Al-Araby TV journalists in West Bank
Beirut, May 6, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned by reports of Israeli forces shooting at an Al-Araby TV crew on Saturday and calls for an immediate and transparent investigation into whether the journalists were targeted. Israeli forces fired at Ameed Shehade, a reporter with Qatari-funded broadcaster Al-Araby TV, and camera…
CPJ condemns Israeli vote to shut down Al Jazeera; warns of alarming precedent
Beirut, May 5, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israeli cabinet’s decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel and warns that the vote could set a dangerous precedent for other international media outlets working in Israel. The cabinet vote on Sunday, announced by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X, came after Israel’s…