LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday night welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached in Gaza and called on authorities to grant full access to journalists and independent human rights experts to investigate crimes against the media during the 15-month conflict.
“Journalists have been paying the highest price — with their lives — to provide the world some insight into the horrors that have been taking place in Gaza during this prolonged war, which has decimated a generation of Palestinian reporters and newsrooms,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg in New York.
“We call on Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli authorities to immediately allow foreign journalists into Gaza, and on the international community to independently investigate the deliberate targeting of journalists that has been widely documented since October 2023.”
The ceasefire was announced on Wednesday by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, who mediated the deal. The agreement includes a halt to hostilities and the release of hostages held in Gaza.
Sheikh Al-Thani expressed hope that the deal would pave the way for a permanent resolution to the conflict, which has killed nearly 47,000 people — most of them Palestinians — and displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday warned of a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas, delaying Israel’s approval of the agreement.
Despite this, all parties remain cautiously optimistic that the ceasefire will take effect as planned on Sunday.
Over the course of the war, Israel has faced heavy criticism, including from its closest ally, the US, over the devastating civilian toll in Gaza and restrictions on aid deliveries of water, medicine and other essentials.
Israel also imposed a near-total ban on international journalists entering Gaza, forcing global news outlets to rely on local reporters working under extreme duress and facing targeted attacks.
Tel Aviv has frequently dismissed these reports as biased, accusing journalists of being affiliated with militant groups, often without providing sufficient evidence.
Since October 2023, CPJ has documented at least 165 journalists and media workers killed, 49 injured, two missing, and 75 arrested, alongside numerous other press freedom violations in Gaza and neighboring regions.
The watchdog has classified the deliberate targeting of at least 11 journalists and two media workers by Israeli forces as murder, which constitutes a war crime under international law.
CPJ is also investigating an additional 20 cases where evidence suggests deliberate targeting of journalists, their homes, and media outlets in Gaza.
