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

CPJ joined 103 global organizations in a letter calling on Israel to stop weaponizing bureaucratic registration rules that have prevented most major international non-governmental organizations (INGO) from delivering a single truck of lifesaving supplies into Gaza since March 2, while Palestinians starve. Millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicines, water, and shelter items lie stranded…

New York, August 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled by Israel’s killing in Gaza on Sunday of four Al Jazeera staff — correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal —  and two freelancers, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammad al-Khaldi. The six journalists were killed and two others were injured by a targeted…

CPJ joined 15 other media and human rights organizations in a joint letter demanding an end to the forced starvation and targeted killing of journalists in Gaza by Israel. The letter calls on governments, international organizations, the media, and civil society to ensure access for food and medical supplies; end to the blockade on foreign…

CPJ joined 35 members of the International News Safety Institute in a July 25 letter calling for Israel to respect the freedom of movement of journalists.  The joint letter called for Israeli authorities to allow Gazan journalists and their families – many of whom, like the rest of the population, are starving and facing extraordinary…

New York, July 24, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely worried about the safety of Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who is being targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign, which he believes is a precursor to his assassination. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee has stepped up his…

New York, July 23, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists added its voice to Wednesday’s urgent appeal from more than 100 aid agencies to end to Israel’s starvation of journalists and other civilians in Gaza, as they called on states to “save lives before there are none left to save.” “Israel is starving Gazan journalists into…

As Gaza faces a humanitarian catastrophe, Palestinian journalists are among those going hungry. Cut off from food, aid, and support from the international press, they continue to report, not only on the war, but on their own malnutrition. “Palestinian journalists are the last witnesses on the ground,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Their reporting…

Nazareth, Israel, July 10, 2025—Police arrested and detained journalist and activist Israel Frey on Wednesday, July 9, in Tel Aviv after the State Attorney’s office opened a criminal investigation on Tuesday on accusations of inciting terrorism based on a social media post on X. A Tel Aviv court on Thursday extended Frey’s detention by three…

Nazareth, Israel, July 9, 2025—Israel’s 12-day war with Iran provided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government with an opportunity to step up its assault on the press — a trend that has since continued apace. “Media freedom is often a casualty of war, and Israel’s recent war with Iran is no exception. We have seen Israeli…

Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, July 1, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Israeli airstrike on Al-Baqa Café, a beachfront venue in western Gaza City, which killed 34-year-old Palestinian filmmaker and photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab and injured freelance journalist Bayan Abusultan on Monday, according to multiple news reports and an eyewitness photographer, who spoke with CPJ. “Palestinian filmmaker Ismail Abu Hatab’s death in an Israeli…