LONDON: Israeli newspaper Haaretz has criticized the country’s journalists for their “silence” regarding the killing of Gaza-based media workers during the ongoing conflict.
In a column published Wednesday, Palestinian Israeli journalist Hanin Majadli highlighted the stark polarization within Israeli media, arguing that most Israeli journalists “are indifferent to the fate of their peers in Gaza,” who are often perceived as aligned with Hamas and, thus, “deserve to die.”
She wrote: “According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, over 110 reporters and media crew members have been killed in Gaza since October 7, a worse result than in World War II, the Korea War, the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq.”
Majadli added: “This development doesn’t get much attention because in Israel, including in the media, all journalists from Gaza — actually everybody in the Strip — are members of Hamas, its elite Nukhba force, murderers and rapists. Or at the very least, they’re accomplices and supporters of terrorism.”
An outspoken advocate for Arab-Palestinian rights in Israel, Majadli criticized the “battle of narratives” between Israeli media and international outlets like Al Jazeera, which she says is dismissed as mere propaganda within Israel.
“What if these journalists are the Gazans’ only way to broadcast their plight to the world? What if the rest of the world views these reporters as journalists risking their lives on the battlefield to get the story — the way journalists are supposed to — and they’re having a hard time due to Israel’s hermetic control over Gaza?” she argued.
“Only a state in breach of international law would so closely monitor news reports about what's happening under its rule. Only a state that feels threatened by a free, independent media would consider the death of over 110 journalists ‘collateral damage.’”
Majadli also pointed out that Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza unless they are “closely accompanied” by soldiers from the Israeli military’s spokesperson’s unit.
This restriction has been contested by international media organizations and press freedom advocates, who argue that it imposes an “untenable burden” on local journalists and fosters an environment ripe for misinformation.
Israel has faced accusations of carrying out a “retaliatory campaign” against journalists and media workers in Gaza, which some have called war crimes, a charge the Israeli military has consistently denied.
“With the number of dead in Gaza approaching 40,000, the notion that journalists, of all people, will be protected sounds particularly ludicrous,” Majadli continued.
“Reporters’ efforts to identify themselves have failed to protect them, and there have been claims that journalists actually have been targeted by the army. The Israeli military officially denies that it views journalists in Gaza as targets, so why are so many of them getting killed?”
Majadli’s concerns have been echoed by other commentators, including Palestinian journalists like Linah Alsaafin, who has recently criticized both Israeli and international media for their “nauseating silence” on the issue.
The “lack of empathy” and “empty press statements” from international organizations, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, were also criticized, with calls for “genuine action” and a need to “stand up to the bully” by actively rejecting the Israeli narratives that often dominate newsrooms.
“This is why there hasn’t been a single petition against the killing of journalists in Gaza, not one demonstration outside any newsroom. Who would sign something like that?” Majadli asked.
“What can you expect from a media culture that grooms its future generation in Army Radio? Will these journalists ever truly take a stand?”
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