– We work in a minefield. That’s what Ahmed Mousa, a journalist in Gaza, says. He has worked as a journalist for 20 years, first for Al Jazeera, now as a freelancer. Mousa says that he fears being killed on a mission or together with his family. – In this war, I am helpless to tell the whole story. I am afraid of becoming a target in my job. Ahmed Mousa, journalist in Gaza talks about the challenges they face at work. Photo: Private Over 100 journalists killed Tamer Almisshal is responsible for the journalists in Gaza for the news channel Al Jazeera. Tamer Almisshal, former journalist now head of Al Jazeera’s journalists in Gaza. He says that he has not been allowed to return to Gaza since he left for work in 2016. Photo: Fathia Mahmoud Farah / news According to him, it was difficult to be a journalist in Gaza before the war, with limited freedom of movement and frequent arrests. Now he believes the situation is bearable and that journalists in Gaza are a target for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). – They attacked journalists on purpose and justify it with false statements, he says. Mousa says that he feels like a target for the IDF at work as a journalist in Gaza. Journalists and other Palestinians mourn the body of the murdered journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul. Many hold up signs that say “press”. Photo: OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP – We have no protection. You never know when a plane or drone might attack. The IDF tells news that they have never intentionally attacked journalists, and are preoccupied with distinguishing between military and civilian targets during their operations. Over 100 journalists killed Since the war between Israel and Hamas started after the terrorist attack on 7 October, at least 116 journalists have been killed, according to the press organization Committee to protect Journalists (CPJ). Two who became part of the gloomy statistics are Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al-Rifi who worked for Al Jazeera. They were killed when the car they were driving was attacked by an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip. Palestinians inspect a vehicle in which Al Jazeera says their reporter Ismail Al-Ghoul and cameraman Ramy El Rivart were killed in an Israeli attack, in Gaza City on July 31, 2024. Photo: Ayman Al Hassi / Reuters – It was shocking, says Almisshal. CPJ believes that the murder of Al-Ghoul and Al-Rifi, and at least three other journalists were targeted by Israeli forces and they classify it as murder. They are also investigating ten other possible targeted attacks on Palestinian journalists. The IDF says in a comment to news that Al-Ghoul was a terrorist who belonged to Hamas and that he was involved in 7 October. Al Jazeera has rejected that. Mourners and colleagues pray for the body of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul, who was killed along with his cameraman Rami Al-Refee in an Israeli strike while covering the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on July 31, 2024. Photo: OMAR AL -QATTAA / AFP In response to CPJ’s inquiries, the IDF says it wishes to stress that its forces are doing their utmost to protect civilian lives, including journalists. Shut down twice in the last year Al Jazeera has been shut down twice by Israel. They blame the Qatar channel for spreading disinformation and anti-Semitic propaganda. First in May, then late in September when Israeli soldiers stormed the channel’s office on Vestbreidda. – This is an unacceptable use of power towards an editor-controlled medium. The seizure of documents and equipment at Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah is deeply disturbing, and an attack on press freedom, stated Dag Idar Tryggestad, leader of the Norwegian Association of Journalists. This spring it was referred to as “a dark day for the media and democracy” by the Foreign Press Association. – These are basic debts without proof. We try as best we can to cover the story from all sides, in order to be credible, says Almisshal about the debts from Israel. The IDF does not specifically comment on the closure of Al Jazeera. Almisshal says that it is difficult when their freedom of the press is restricted, at the same time that Israel does not let in international journalists. More than 60 organizations asked Netanyahu to give foreign journalists access to Gaza before he visited the US Congress earlier this year. Here during the visit with the head of the House of Representatives in the United States, Mike Johnson (R), and the head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Ben Cardin (D) clapping after Netanyahu’s speech in July 2024. Photo: Craig Hudson / Reuters 60 press organizations asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to to give foreign journalists access to Gaza. Media researcher and professor of journalism and media studies, Kristin Skaret Orgeret at Oslo Met says that the world around is completely dependent on the journalists on the ground to know what is happening. She says the entry restrictions Israel has seen are challenging, and believes it is a matter of Israel not wanting the international media to look at what is happening. – When it comes to freedom of the press in Gaza, it is important to recognize that the region is currently under an active war. The IDF’s restrictions on access are made with the aim of ensuring the safety of journalists as well as its own personnel, the IDF wrote to news. Silent about Hamas When asked whether journalists in Gaza feel that the militant group Hamas limits their freedom of the press, Almisshal does not answer concretely. – We face challenges, yet we show all sides of the conflict, he replies. The media researcher believes that the hesitation around Hamas can be blamed on the news agency being allowed to operate in Gaza. Kristin Skaret Orgeret, professor of journalism and media studies at Oslo Met. She says that it could also be because the channel has sympathy for Palestinians. – There is no doubt that Al Jazeera is pro-Palestinian. Another theory, says Orgeret, could be that it is common for journalists to assume a patriotic role when they are under attack. She compares it to the Ukrainian press. – In Ukraine they say that they will investigate Ukrainian management, especially when it comes to corruption. It will not be done now, while the war is raging at its worst, it is a task that will come later. Published 02.10.2024, at 09.01 Updated 03.10.2024, at 16.24
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Over 100 journalists have been killed in Gaza – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
