Israel does not deliberately target journalists.

Gaza has become the deadliest place for journalists in modern history, with more journalists killed there than in both World Wars, the wars in Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan combined. If this is not the deliberate targeting of journalists, what is?

The systematic targeting of journalists is so extensive that the Institute for Palestine Studies has dedicated an entire documentation platform to it. The platform documents the killing of over 331 Palestinian journalists, the arrest of over 220, and the targeting of 111 media institutions. Named after veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot in the head by Israeli forces while covering a military raid in Jenin in 2022, it documents a long-standing and systematic assault on journalism rather than isolated incidents.

Israel does not simply target journalists. It targets journalism itself. It has repeatedly killed journalists wearing clearly marked "PRESS" vests, bombed press vehicles, carried out targeted assassinations, arbitrarily detained and tortured media workers, smeared and threatened journalists, banned media organizations it claimed posed a 'security threat', destroyed newsrooms and communications infrastructure, cut telecommunications, and barred international journalists from entering Palestine. Together, these practices reveal a systematic campaign to prevent the documentation of atrocities, eliminate witnesses, and control the narrative.

Israel has repeatedly marked Palestinian journalists for death before killing them. Journalists including Hossam Shabat, Anas al-Sharif, and Saleh Al-Jaafarawi were subjected to public threats, accusations of terrorism, or campaigns to discredit them before they were killed. The recurring sequence of smear, threat, and killing reveals a pattern of targeted assassinations.

Journalists are civilians protected under international humanitarian law. UN bodies, press freedom organizations, and human rights organizations have repeatedly documented Israel's deliberate attacks on journalists in Palestine and Lebanon and called for these attacks to be investigated as war crimes. Reporters Without Borders has filed five complaints with the International Criminal Court about Israeli war crimes against Palestinian journalists.

Israel's attacks on journalists extend beyond Palestine. In Lebanon, over 27 journalists have been killed during the genocide, despite being on duty, wearing clearly marked "PRESS" gear, and reporting from known media positions. The recurring pattern across Palestine and Lebanon demonstrates that attacks on journalists are not isolated incidents but part of a broader assault on the documentation of Israeli atrocities.

Israel has barred foreign journalists from independently entering Gaza since the genocide, admitting to Reuters and Agence France-Presse that it cannot guarantee their safety. Even during so-called ceasefires, access has remained limited to journalists embedded with the Israeli military under strict conditions. Combined with its systematic attacks on Palestinian journalists and media infrastructure, this reveals a deliberate policy of eliminating independent reporting and controlling the narrative.