Last week, ahead of World Press Freedom Day, the European Broadcasting Union brought together journalists, media organizations, humanitarian actors, and press freedom advocates for a Conference on the Future of Journalism in Gaza.

The conversation was urgent, unflinching and, in the words of several people in the room, a beginning.

The gathering also served as a platform for Reporters Without Borders to launch its annual World Press Freedom Index, itself a grim reminder of press freedom's fragility.

Last December, when planning for the conference began, there was reason to think that by the time World Press Freedom Day came around, the situation in Gaza would be different.

But today, the picture is darker than at the start of the ceasefire and global media coverage from the Strip has dropped away. These two facts represent a crisis demanding a response.

The EBU reiterates what it has said many times before and will keep saying: international media must be allowed into Gaza. Journalists must be allowed to work safely, freely, and without fear. This is a bare minimum for accountability, for the public record, and for the world’s right to know what’s happening.

At our conference, we heard the unvarnished testimonies of Palestinian journalists who know more than anyone the perils of finding, capturing and sharing Gaza's stories.

Daily, they run towards danger rather than away from it, knowing the profound personal risks that entails. Yet they persist in the name of a greater good.

This World Press Freedom Day, we remember the more than 260 journalists killed in Gaza, and all who have died while reporting from dangerous places around the world. And we honour those who continue to report with courage so the world can bear witness.