The IPI global network stands with the Foreign Press Association of Israel in demanding that the Israeli government grant international media immediate access to report from inside the Gaza Strip. The FPA said that foreign journalists have been denied the right to access and report independently from inside Gaza without the presence of IDF troops since the war’s start on October 7. A limited number of journalists have been allowed to embed with IDF troops but in these cases have not been permitted to report independently from places where IDF soldiers are not present, according to the FPA.

“Israel has blocked foreign press access to Gaza during some previous wars, but never before so long”, the association said in a press release, adding that “it is in the public interest to get a fuller picture of conditions inside Gaza after 10 weeks of extremely limited and highly controlled access.” The association also said it is “aware of the unique security challenges posed by the current war, and any members entering Gaza would have to take these risks into account.”

The association, which represents 370 journalists from 130 media outlets around the world, on Monday filed a petition in the Israeli Supreme Court to request access to the region for foreign reporters, after the government and military failed to respond to its requests. A representative of the FPA told IPI that Supreme Court Judge Ruth Ronen has ordered authorities to respond to the petition by December 25, and after that, the decision could take a few weeks.

Restrictions on international media have dramatically limited information about the war from inside Gaza, where intensifying Israeli bombardments and ground raids have resulted in staggering and unprecedented civilian casualties and wide-scale devastation. This has only added to the pressures faced by Palestinian journalists, who bear the full burden of covering the war, amid unprecedented dangers. At least 64 journalists have been killed since the war’s start on October 7 — the largest number of journalists to be killed in this short span of time in any modern conflict or war.

A vast majority of those killed have been Palestinian journalists covering the war from inside Gaza, and who have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and ground raids. In addition, dozens of media outlets in Gaza have been bombed by Israeli forces, and journalists in Gaza and across the region face detention and harassment.

“The government of Israel and the military must allow immediate access to Gaza to all foreign correspondents, who play a critical role in bringing news and information to the public all around the world,” IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said. “The IDF must also respect the rights of all journalists to report independently and safely from inside Gaza.”