From 1967 to Gaza 2025: The systematic silencing of Palestinian media

On August 25, 2025, an Israeli attack on Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, killed 22 people, including five journalists.

This criminal assault drew worldwide condemnation, prompting a response from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While his office claimed that Israel “values the work of journalists,” the numbers tell a different story.

According to The Conversation, with the latest victims of Israel’s journalist-killing campaign during its nearly two-year war on Gaza, the number of slain journalists has reached 192. Palestinian sources, however, put the number at 244.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which documents the deaths of reporters in Gaza, accused Israel of “being responsible for the deadliest and most deliberate attempt to kill and silence journalists.”

The CPJ stressed that Palestinian journalists are threatened, directly targeted and killed by Israeli forces, and arbitrarily arrested and tortured in retaliation for their work.

The current journalist-killing campaign in Gaza is part of Israel’s longer history of silencing Palestinian journalists — a targeted campaign dating back at least to 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip following the Six-Day War.

Beyond the human toll, the situation is worsened by Israel’s restrictions on foreign media access to Gaza, leaving Palestinian journalists as the only witnesses to document death and destruction for the outside world. In fact, nearly all of the almost 200 journalists killed since October 7, 2023, have been Palestinian.

Journalist-killing: A process decades in the making

Since the earliest days of occupation in 1967, Israel sought to control reporting by imposing strict censorship laws and building a legal-military system designed to suppress Palestinian journalism.

In August 1967, the army issued Military Order 101, which criminalized “political” gatherings and “propaganda” publications in the occupied territories.

Despite restrictions, local journalism continued. By the early 1980s, Palestinians in the occupied territories published three daily newspapers, five weeklies, and four magazines — some with circulations of up to 15,000 copies.

However, all Palestinian publications were subject to Israeli military censorship, covering articles, photos, advertisements, weather reports, and even crossword puzzles. Anything deemed to have “political significance” had to be removed before publication. Editors who violated these rules were accused of crimes in efforts to discredit them.

During the recent two-year war on Gaza, Israel established a covert “legitimacy unit” aimed at justifying its journalist-killing campaign under this same approach.

Censorship regimes

In December 1987, Palestinians launched the First Intifada in response to such restrictions and other oppressive measures.

Reports show that during the first year of the Intifada, Israeli forces imprisoned 47 Palestinian journalists, temporarily shut down eight local and regional newspapers, permanently revoked licenses of two magazines, and closed four press offices.

Rather than deterring Palestinians, many saw these restrictions as proof of Israel’s fear of Palestinian reporting.

Hopes that the Oslo Accords (initiated in 1993 between Israel and the PLO) would bring press freedoms were soon dashed. Israeli authorities continued military censorship on so-called “security issues” and revoked press cards from journalists.

Shooting journalists with impunity

By the 2000s, Israeli attacks on journalists in the West Bank and Gaza had become more lethal.

• In 2002, Israeli forces killed Palestinian photographer Imad Abu Zahra in Jenin.
• In 2003, British filmmaker James Miller was shot dead in Rafah.
• In 2008, Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed in Gaza.

Since then, journalists covering Israeli crimes have faced even deadlier conditions, often targeted during peaceful demonstrations.

In 2018, during the “Great March of Return” protests in Gaza, Israeli forces fatally shot Palestinian journalists Yaser Murtaja and Ahmed Abu Hussein, both wearing “PRESS” vests. At least 115 other journalists were injured during the six-month protests.

This deadly force extended beyond Palestinians. In May 2022, Al Jazeera’s Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead during an Israeli raid in Jenin. Global outrage intensified after Israeli police attacked mourners at her funeral.

Journalists as “Legitimate Targets”?

International humanitarian law states that journalists are civilians and must not be targeted during war — including war correspondents.

Israeli officials claim they do not target journalists, arguing that attacks strike “legitimate military targets.” To justify killings, they often accuse journalists of ties to Palestinian resistance — usually without independent or verifiable evidence.

For instance, after Murtaja’s killing in 2018, Israel made baseless allegations about his ties to Hamas. In Abu Akleh’s case, Israel initially blamed Palestinian fighters, before later admitting there was a “high probability” its forces shot her — calling it an “accidental killing” and pressing no charges.

A recent documentary, however, refuted Israel’s narrative and identified the Israeli soldier who shot her.

A culture of impunity

Even before the current Gaza war, Israeli forces operated under a culture of impunity when killing journalists.

A May 2023 CPJ report concluded that Israel was engaged in a “deadly pattern” of using lethal force against journalists without holding perpetrators accountable.

Since the latest war began, conditions have worsened. Israel continues to block international news agencies from entering Gaza, leaving Palestinian journalists as the sole reporters. Alongside constant threats, they also face smear campaigns designed to discredit their work.

Often, while others flee, Palestinian reporters run toward bombings to cover them, only to be targeted in so-called “double-tap” strikes, where Israeli forces bomb a site again, killing rescuers and journalists.

The toll has been devastating. In October 2023, Al Jazeera bureau chief in Gaza, Wael al-Dahdouh, learned live on air that an Israeli airstrike had killed his wife, two children, and grandchild. He returned to work the next day.

Killings have not stopped. On August 10, 2025, Israeli forces killed Al Jazeera’s veteran correspondent Anas al-Sharif in Gaza City, along with five other journalists.

The latest case in a deadly pattern

The August 25 attack on Nasser Hospital is just the newest instance of this lethal pattern. Among the five slain journalists were freelancers working for Reuters and the Associated Press — both international outlets long frustrated by Israel’s refusal to allow their correspondents into Gaza.

Despite the risks, global newsrooms have repeatedly urged Israel to open Gaza to independent media, and a coalition of 27 countries recently pressed for access. Israel continues to refuse.

As a result, Palestinian journalists remain the primary witnesses to Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza — and increasingly lose their lives while doing so.

The question remains: Will the international community hold Israel accountable?