Pressure, intimidation, and censorship: Israeli journalists have faced growing repression in the past year

Journalist Roee Idanwas one of the many victims of Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, killedwith his daughter shortly after documenting Hamas' assault for his media outlet Ynet. Since that day, nearly a year ago, the Israeli government has been waging a devastating war in Gaza and the intimidation and censorship of Israeli media outlets has increased. Israeli journalists striving to cover the conflict now work under heavy pressure. Like all journalists outside Gaza, they cannot enter the blockaded Palestinian enclave unless they accompany the Israeli army and remain under strict surveillance.

Any media coverage deemed critical of Netanyahu's government, or even sympathetic to the Palestinian victims, has become risky territory. In October 2023 alone, at least fifteen journalistswere attacked or threatened by the Israeli security forces or individual citizens. These repressive acts, fuelled by nationwide anger after the assault on 7 October, have reinforced the climate of self-censorship among media professionals in Israel, which was further exacerbated by a draconian regulation dating to November 2023 that bans international media outlets considered a threat to national security.

Repression, threats, and no coverage of Gaza

Journalist Israel Frey was forced to evacuate his home in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, on 14 October, after a mob from Israel's far-right threatened him outside his house, accusing him of showing sympathy for the victims of Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip in a video he had appeared in. A few days earlier, on 13 October, journalists from the British international news channel BBC Arabic- Muhannad Tutunji, Haitham Abudiab,and their team - were arrested, assaulted, and held at gunpoint by Israeli police in Tel Aviv. On 5 June, an unidentified assailant destroyed the glass entrance to the editorial office of the daily Haaretz, considered one of the few media outlets covering the impact of the war on people in Gaza. Two Haaretz journalists were assaulted by police officerson 2 September while covering demonstrations demanding an agreement for the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas.

Policies of censorship: a severe new law and blockade

The Israeli government's draconian regulation passed in November 2023 - which became a new law in April 2024 - was used to ban Al-Jazeera'schannel in Israel, following defamatory accusations of "propaganda" and "terrorism" by Israeli politicians and members of its judiciary. The media outlet's office in Ramallah, in the occupied territories, was also stormed in September 2024 by the Israeli armed forces and forced to close for a renewable period of 45 days. According to the journalists who contacted RSF, the ban on the Qatari channel was seen as a wider threat to media outlets accused of pro-Palestinian coverage. At the same time, the Israeli blockade on Gaza continues to keep international journalists from reporting the facts on this war-torn territory.