”Unprecedented”: The Necessity for Protection of Journalists

A journalist with cameras and a press helmet. Photo by Geoff Livingston via Flickr

Sensitive content warning: contains descriptions of war.

Every few days, journalist Muhammad Smiry tweets from his location in the Gaza Strip: “I am still alive. #Gaza.” Following these tweets, Smiry will detail the sounds and sights of rockets exploding and the chaos of injured and dead civilians.

Smiry is one of the few journalists still alive during the war between the militant group Hamas in Gaza in Palestine and Israel. Unfortunately, life is not guaranteed day to day for journalists like Smiry who are on the ground providing vital coverage.

A report from the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) released on Oct. 25 said that 24 journalists had been killed in the hostilities thus far with 20 Palestinian, three Israeli, and one Lebanese journalist. Several other journalists have been injured, listed as missing or detained.

NPR explains that this conflict has been the deadliest period for journalists in this region since the Second Intifada, where 13 journalists were killed during those five years of the conflict in the 2000s. Disturbingly, this current war is less than a month old and has already passed that number. For further context, CPJ found that 17 journalists have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in Feb. 2022 till today.

Sometimes it is easy to forget where the news comes from. A headline from a conflict like this is abstract. However, the critical information behind the headlines that shapes our understanding of what is happening and allows us to understand the humanity of war comes from journalists — the journalists, who see what a headline like “Gaza families wear ID bracelets to avoid burial in mass graves” means in real-time.

Journalists play a fundamental role in showing what is happening, even if the images, videos, and reports are nothing short of hellish. For this reason, there must be a commitment to protection for journalists on the ground, and more needs to be done to protect the people who provide necessary information to the world.

It is important to understand clearly what is being reported by the journalists covering the war right now, considering that what is being covered creates significant danger for the reporters on the ground. Photojournalist and member of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Motaz Azaiza has been reporting via his Instagram page where he has gained several million followers since the start of this war. He shares real-time footage of the situation on the ground in Gaza with graphic images and details of the destruction of the city, with some of the most disturbing documentation of dead or severely injured civilians as a result of the Israeli airstrikes (many of whom are children that make up half of Gaza’s population).

Each day, Azaiza works with fellow reporters in Gaza to provide coverage of the conditions on the ground. However, conditions in Gaza for the population have declined severely, which has affected how these journalists have been able to report. In a statement released on Instagram by Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary with the Middle East Eye in conjunction with Azaiza said “It's important to note that there is currently no organization or association offering support to journalists on the ground. We lack access to electricity & internet. We hope that by sending this message, someone may be able to help us secure the necessary safety equipment.”

As Khoudary noted, many of the journalists covering Gaza are working as freelance with limited equipment for protection with only helmets and press vests. Photojournalist Roshdi Sarraj is one of the 20 Palestinian journalists who’ve been killed thus far. He was protecting his wife in their home in Gaza when an Israeli airstrike struck near the building. Even journalists with major organizations like Al-Jazeera are also facing issues of their own with journalist Wael Dahdouh hearing his wife, son, and daughter were killed in an Israeli airstrike while broadcasting. In Lebanon, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed and other journalists were injured in Israeli shelling on the border, with each journalist marked as press.

Censorship of coverage has been a significant factor in the plight of journalists covering the war. The Washington Post reported that CPJ warned Israel to not censor Al-Jazeera’s coverage.

Al Jazeera reports that users of X (formally Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook have had content about the war from a Palestinian perspective to see diminished viewership, removal or algorithmic roadblocks to information. The article notes that journalist Amzat Khan tweeted about the censorship stating “After posting an Instagram story about the war in Gaza yesterday, my account was shadowbanned. Many colleagues and journalists friends have reported the same.”

To be blunt, war is hell. It has been catastrophic for Palestinians and Israelis with the worst of humanity coming to a head. Journalists who are witnesses to the cataclysm of war are there to tell the story. Therefore, it should be a priority to extend assistance and protection to the journalists on the ground providing necessary information to the public worldwide.