The EBU News Committee, comprised of senior newsroom leaders from public service broadcasters, has demanded that the Israeli authorities allow foreign journalists free and full access to Gaza following the ceasefire that began on Friday 10th October.

The pause in hostilities offers a moment of respite and renewed international attention. Yet foreign media are still barred from entering Gaza under an entrenched Israeli policy that severely restricts independent reporting from the enclave.

Immediately upon its election at the annual EBU News Assembly, taking place in Naples, the incoming EBU News Committee asserted that the disproportionate restrictions undermine the fundamental principles of media freedom, transparency and public accountability, and are now even less defensible on security grounds.

Journalists serve as the eyes and ears of the global public, and their presence is essential to verify facts, report on humanitarian needs, and document events on the ground.

‘Media freedom doesn’t stop at a checkpoint,’ said said Pierre-Olivier Volet, Editor-in-Chief, TV News, SRG SSR, newly elected Chair of the EBU News Committee. ‘If the ceasefire is real, and if it is to last, then truth and transparency have to follow. The world deserves unfiltered access to the facts, and local and international journalists must be afforded the freedom to report it.’ 

‘Unrestricted reporting access to Gaza is vital,’ said Liz Corbin, EBU Director of News. ‘Free, independent reporting is the only way the world will understand the real impact of the conflict and the challenges of recovery. We honour the courage of Palestinian journalists who have been operating under tremendous danger and hardship and insist that the world’s media be let in to give them the support they deserve.’

Since the start of the Gaza offensive in October 2023, Palestinian journalists have borne the brunt of the risk, working under life-threatening conditions to bring audiences first-hand reporting. Multiple international organizations report that Israeli military action has killed more than 200 journalists during the conflict, many of them because of their work.

The EBU salutes their bravery and asserts that foreign journalists must be allowed into Gaza to complement their work and support their efforts to report the facts. With the ceasefire in effect, transparency and truth-telling must be allowed to take hold. The international public has a right to know what is happening in Gaza through the eyes of independent journalists on the ground, local and foreign.

The EBU News Committee therefore demands that the Israeli authorities immediately:

• Lift the ban on foreign media entering Gaza, without preconditions.
• Uphold their responsibilities towards journalists’ safety and freedom of movement.
• End all restrictions on reporting from within the Palestinian territories and Israel.
• Ensure accountability for past attacks and threats against journalists.