Despite Israel’s actions resulting in over two-and-a-half times the number of journalists killed in Gaza this past year compared to those lost during the entirety of World War II, its justifications for targeting media—actions that violate journalists’ civilian protections under Article 79 of the Geneva Conventions, Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and customary international humanitarian law (IHL) as defined by the International Committee of the Red Cross—continue to find validation within Western media circles.

In recent weeks, Israel has intensified its crackdown on press freedom. On October 23, the Israeli military accused six Al-Jazeera journalists stationed in northern Gaza of being “terrorists” with ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Israel subsequently released a document identifying the journalists as combatants, though it offered no corroborating evidence to support these claims, and the dossier appears to contain conflicting details.

Al-Jazeera swiftly rejected the allegations, joined by journalist advocacy groups that denounced Israel’s documents as fabrications. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) weighed in as well, noting that the document released by the Israeli military closely resembles one circulated earlier this year following a targeted strike that killed Al-Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul while he was traveling in a clearly marked press vehicle.

The CPJ pointed out inconsistencies in the document linking al-Ghoul to Hamas, noting it included “contradictory information showing that [al-Ghoul], born in 1997, received a Hamas military ranking in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old.” The organization added that Israel has “repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence.”

Since May, Israel has barred Al-Jazeera from reporting within its borders, a move followed by a raid on the network’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah. During the operation, soldiers reportedly ransacked the offices and confiscated equipment, despite the area being under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.

Israel’s history of using disinformation to justify strikes on Al-Jazeera dates back years. In May 2021, Israeli forces demolished Gaza City’s al-Jalaa Tower, home to the offices of Al-Jazeera, the Associated Press, and Middle East Eye, asserting that Hamas militants were using the building as cover and journalists as human shields.

After facing international backlash, Israel offered shifting explanations. Initially, officials claimed the building housed electronic warfare equipment meant to jam Israeli smart bombs. Later, they Associated Press that Hamas operatives were using the site to target Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

Israeli intelligence sources later told Haaretz they were unaware the al-Jalaa Tower housed media organizations until after the strike—a claim widely dismissed as implausible, given AP’s decade-long presence there. The Haaretz report also revealed that the strike was part of Israel’s calculated strategy to project an image of victory. Despite calls for a war crimes probe from Reporters Without Borders, Israel has not provided evidence to support its claims.

The 2022 killing of veteran Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh drew further international scrutiny. Though multiple witnesses described the Palestinian-American’s assassination in Jenin Refugee Camp, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett maintained that “according to the information we have gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians — who were firing indiscriminately at the time — were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist.”

“We have seen footage of indiscriminate shooting by Palestinian terrorists, which is likely to have hit the journalist,” former Defense Minister Benny Gantz stated, adding that Israel’s preliminary investigation suggested no Israeli fire was directed toward Abu Akleh at the time. Yet within 24 hours, the footage Gantz referenced was debunked by Israeli rights group B’Tselem, while a CNN investigation later indicated that Israeli forces had, in fact, fired directly at the journalists.

Shireen Abu Akleh is just one of at least 20 journalists killed by Israeli forces over the past two decades, a “deadly pattern” marked by the absence of any charges or accountability. This persistent lack of justice is part of why the Committee to Protect Journalists now ranks Israel highest after only Haiti, as the worst offenders on its 2024 Impunity Index, where journalist killings are most likely to go unpunished. Israel was only added to the index last year.

While Al-Jazeera has been at the heart of Israel’s crackdown on journalism, it is far from the only outlet targeted. Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen News was the first network banned during the Gaza war in November 2023. Last week, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on an Al-Mayadeen office in Beirut, followed by a strike on a media complex in the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya that killed three Lebanese journalists.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 180 Palestinian journalists in Gaza and at least seven in Lebanon. Among the victims was Reuters visual journalist Issam Abdullah, who was killed on October 13 at age 37. Initially, Israel attributed his death to Hezbollah, asserting that the group was firing in the area at the time.

Reuters initially released a report on Issam Abdullah’s death without directly accusing Israel, though it noted he had been “killed in Lebanon in missile fire from the direction of Israel.” It wasn’t until December that Reuters’ internal investigation confirmed that the Israeli military was indeed responsible for their colleague’s death.

A subsequent UN report echoed this conclusion, stating that Abdullah, who was “clearly identifiable” as a journalist, had been killed by Israeli fire. In response, an Israeli military spokesperson revised their initial account, claiming that Israeli forces had returned fire after a Hezbollah attack and later received reports of journalist casualties. To date, no one has been held accountable for the killing.

During World War II, 69 journalists lost their lives covering the deadliest conflict in history, while 63 were killed over two decades of the Vietnam War. By contrast, Israel has killed more journalists in just over a year than both wars combined, making this conflict the deadliest for journalists in recorded history.

Feature photo | Journalists, relatives and friends pray over the body Journalists Sari Mansour and Hassouna Esleem after they were killed in an Israeli bombardment of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on November 19, 2023. Majdi Fathi | AP

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe.’ Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

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