Israel court hears appeal over ban on independent media access to Gaza

EPA/ShutterstockForeign journalists have only been allowed to enter Gaza on restricted visits accompanied by Israeli forcesIsrael's Supreme Court has been hearing a case brought by foreign journalists asking for the Israeli government to end its ban on independent media access to the Gaza Strip.Despite the ceasefire in Gaza which came into effect last October, the Israeli government has refused to change the policy it introduced two years ago at the start of the war, citing security concerns.The lawyer for the Foreign Press Association (FPA), Gilad Sher, told the court that the situation was "absurd", undermining the principles of press freedom and the public's right to know.The lawyer representing the government, Yonathan Nadav, said that unrestricted media access would endanger Israeli troops and journalists.It is not clear when the Supreme Court will issue its decisive ruling.The FPA represents some 400 journalists based in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories working for the international media. These include locally based journalists working for the BBC.During the deadliest ever war in Gaza, the foreign media have only been allowed to enter the territory on limited, restricted visits, accompanied by the Israeli military. Some of my BBC colleagues have taken part in these so-called military embeds.Almost all on-the-ground reporting and filming has been done by Palestinian journalists who were already in Gaza and have themselves been living through harsh conditions.Since the departure of our long-time BBC staff members during the war, we have relied on a small team of trusted freelancers to help us with our work.The FPA has been pressing the Israeli government for journalists to be allowed to enter Gaza since early in the war. In 2024, it issued a petition, after which the Supreme Court granted the government several extensions to submit its response.Finally, the court set 4 January as a final deadline for the authorities. In its submission, the government maintained that the ban should remain in place on security grounds."Now we have a ceasefire, we're saying it's rather difficult to understand these security arguments," FPA chairperson and Deutsche Welle Jerusalem correspondent Tania Kraemer told me at the Supreme Court. "We want to go into Gaza. It's our job to be there to talk to people. And that's what we do the best – to be there doing first-hand reporting."The FPA has stressed that its demand for independent access does not detract from the work of Palestinian colleagues based in Gaza."They have been displaced, they have taken risks, many journalists have been killed – we all know the numbers," Kraemer added. "We are saying they should not have to bear this burden alone and that we should be able to basically report alongside them."Israeli strike in Gaza kills three journalists, first responders sayIsrael says it has retrieved remains of final Gaza hostageUS unveils plans for 'New Gaza' with skyscrapersIn previous times of war, the FPA has succeeded in pressing the Israeli government to allow access for journalists. This happened in early 2009, after some media teams had already managed to enter the strip from Egypt via the Rafah crossing.During the six-week conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2014, I was among the journalists who signed a legal waiver so that the Israeli military would allow me to enter the Palestinian territory at a time of active hostilities.At that time, the BBC routinely shared the location of its office in Gaza City and hotels where we stayed with the Israeli military. We kept its press desk informed as we moved around in our armoured car and the FPA was able to co-ordinate buses to bring us in and out of the territory via Israel's Erez crossing.Such efforts reduced – but did not totally prevent – dangerous encounters with Israeli troops and Hamas fighters.According to media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, more than 220 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the start of the Gaza war, including at least 68 killed while working. The Israeli military says it only targets members of armed Palestinian groups and military sites.A week ago, an Israeli strike south of Gaza City killed three freelance journalists who worked with international news agencies while they were filming: Mohammed Qashta, Anas Ghneim and Abdul Raouf Shaat.The military said it attacked "several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas… in a manner that posed a threat" to its forces and that the incident was under examination.Both Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, another NGO, have filed briefs with the Israeli court to grant media access immediately. They have argued that keeping journalists out of Gaza sets a "dangerous precedent".Press freedomIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territories