Freelance journalist Mariam Dagga, 33, who worked for the Associated Press and other media outlets during the Gaza war, in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 14, 2024.Image: keystone
April 30, 2026, 3:34 p.mApril 30, 2026, 3:34 p.m
Leading international media have written an open letter from the Israeli government demanding access to the Gaza Strip for their reporters.
Since the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the war that followed, Israel has denied international media independent access to the blocked coastal strip, according to a statement from the Foreign Press Association in Israel (FPA), which published the letter.
The open letter is signed by members of the editor-in-chief of the international news agencies Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, EFE, Agence France Press and dpa. Other signatories include leading representatives from the New York Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Washington Post.
Protest against ongoing access restrictions
Since the beginning of the war, Israel has repeatedly rejected demands to allow journalists into Gaza, the letter says. A petition submitted by the foreign press association to the highest court in Jerusalem was also unsuccessful.
«It’s time for the delays to end. Let’s go to Gaza.”
From the open letter.
“As the world celebrates Press Freedom Week, we once again demand that Israel immediately lift this ban.” Freedom of the press is a fundamental value of every open society. «It’s time for the delays to end. Let’s go to Gaza.” International journalists have only been able to travel to the Gaza Strip accompanied by the Israeli army since October 2023.
Call for protection for Palestinian journalists
The signatories also call for the protection of Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip. Local workers in Gaza were working under extreme circumstances and should not bear the burden alone.
More than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Israel had repeatedly accused reporters in Gaza of collaborating with Hamas.
Argument: Since the ceasefire, the hardest fighting has been over
There has been a ceasefire since October 2025, but in fact fatal incidents continue to occur. The disarmament of Hamas as planned in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan has not yet been implemented. Israel continues to control half of the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the ceasefire, Hamas has largely managed to consolidate its rule in the area of Gaza that it continues to control.
The signatories of the letter argue that the hardest fighting is over. There are no longer any hostages in the Gaza Strip. International journalists do not pose a threat to Israeli troops – so it is time for an opening. (sda/dpa)