British Jewish journalists call for Israel to allow media access to Gaza
Leading British Jewish journalists have signed a letter calling on Israel to allow foreign media access to the Gaza Strip.
The letter, signed by ITV political editor Robert Peston and The News Agents hosts Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel among others, also criticised Egypt's restrictions on access through the Rafah crossing.
"We note that local media have done an extraordinary job reporting on events while themselves being displaced, hungry and at constant risk, but they should not carry this burden alone," reads the letter, printed in the trade magazine Press Gazette on Thursday.
"As journalists and editors, who are also Jews, we see Israel's and Egypt's refusal to allow such access as unjustified and unjustifiable, and as an unacceptable restriction on our professional responsibility to inform readers, viewers and listeners accurately and impartially."
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza in October 2023, Israel has prevented foreign media access to the enclave with the exception of a small number of heavily controlled and curated trips.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
More than 200 journalists have been killed over the course of the war, which the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) says has "killed more journalists over the course of a year than in any other conflict CPJ has documented".
Rights groups and unions such as the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate have accused the Israeli army of pursuing a systematic policy of targeting journalists and their families.
Ignore Starmer's theatrics. Gaza's trail of blood leads straight to his door Read More »
Israel has repeatedly justified the exclusion of journalists from the Gaza Strip on the grounds that it is unsafe, a claim that has been dismissed by media outlets.
"To suggest that the safety of journalists cannot be guaranteed is not a reason to deny access. International journalists are aware of the risks," read the Press Gazette letter.
"These risks are for them to manage as they do all too frequently in conflict zones around the world. That is their job and that is their calling: to report from some of the most troubled places in the hope that humanity will not avert its eyes."
On Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry confirmed that at least 16,503 children had been killed by Israeli attacks since the Israeli war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023.
Among them were 916 infants under the age of one.
In a statement, the ministry said the numbers "do not merely represent innocent lives lost" but reveal a "humanitarian catastrophe" and the "targeting of an entire generation".
It called for global action, asking the international community, human rights groups, and aid agencies to "stop the aggression immediately" and hold Israeli occupation leaders accountable for crimes against civilians.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
32 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
‘Smirker of the genocide': Outrage after Matthew Miller says Israel committed war crimes
Former US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has sparked outrage after saying he believed 'without a doubt" that Israel has committed war crimes. On Monday's episode of Sky News' Trump 100 podcast, Miller, now speaking as a private citizen, said he does not believe Israel is carrying out a genocide, but that it is failing itself as a democracy by not holding soldiers accountable for their actions in Gaza. He added that there were "disagreements all along the way" on how to handle Israel's war on Gaza. Miller served as the State Department spokesperson from 2023 until the end of Biden's presidential term, during which he frequently defended Israel's war on Gaza. When asked if he believed Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza, Miller replied: 'I don't believe it's genocide, but I think it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes.' The host then pressed on why Miller had publicly denied accusations of war crimes against Israel for more than a year, to which Miller said he was a spokesperson for the US government, not for himself. 'The United States government had not concluded they've (Israel) committed war crimes – they still have not concluded that," he said. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'You are a spokesperson for the president, the administration, and you espouse the positions of the administration. And when you're not in the administration, you can just give your own opinions." Miller continued to specify that it is still open to question whether the Israeli state has committed war crimes, but that there have been 'individual incidents' from soldiers in the Israeli military who undoubtedly committed "war crimes". The responsibility, he said, lies with Israel to hold these individuals accountable, which he believes they have not done. 'Characteristic smirk' Miller took heavy criticism throughout his time at the White House, from both the general public and reporters who attended State Department press conferences. On multiple occasions, reporters pushed back against Miller as he continuously deflected blame from the US or Israel, despite any evidence presented. One viral moment took place when journalist Sam Husseini accused Miller of 'smirking' while he was talking about the death toll in Gaza. This, in particular, has been continuously referenced by social media users who say that Miller's recent admission of Israel's war crimes is not only too late but will not "save him' from complicity in the war crimes he says Israel has committed. Middle East Eye requested comment from Miller regarding the backlash that has ensued, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed, who recently arrived in Dublin after fleeing Gaza, took to X to respond to Miller, writing: 'You will always be remembered as the smirker of the Gaza Genocide'. We will also never forgive and forget you, and you will always be remembered as the smirker of the Gaza Genocide. You also must be held accountable. — Abubaker Abed (@AbubakerAbedW) June 2, 2025 Another wrote that Miller wore his 'characteristic smirk' while he was 'quite literally the face of the US covering for Israel, denying their war crimes on the podium day in and day out'. 'We're seeing more and more cases like his as the scale of the horrors that happened - and are still happening - in Gaza is becoming more and more impossible to deny,' he continued. 'They're nothing more than opportunists trying to salvage their reputations on the graves of those they helped kill. The lowest of the low.' Others echoed the sentiment that Miller is among the many figures, ranging from journalists to international leaders, who have only recently condemned Israel for its bombardment of the enclave, which has killed over 54,000 Palestinians so far, after defending the state for a year and a half. 'Public opinion has shifted and now everyone needs to get a quote that they can point that says they knew the whole time and were secretly working behind the scenes,' one Reddit user wrote. "At some point, all of these criminals will claim they acted under compulsion," Palestinian-American imam Dr Omar Suleiman wrote in an Instagram post. "We will not let them sanitize their role in this genocide." Popular political commentator and streamer Hasan Piker pointed out that the potential war crimes Israel has committed were done, in part, because of Miller and the US government's constant support. you directly helped cover for those war crimes so we could keep sending more munitions to do new crimes with! — hasanabi (@hasanthehun) June 2, 2025 "How many times did this piece of shit say something like 'we've asked the IDF to investigate these reports and we'll let you know what they say'? How many times did he invoke the phrase 'hamas propaganda' when referring to these reports?" a Reddit user wrote in a thread discussing the podcast episode. Some took it even a step further in pointing the blame back at Miller, saying that he could be tried as a war criminal - like those who were spokespeople for the Nazi party in Germany - for his role in defending Israel. "The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him." - Nuremberg Principle IV. Miller is a war criminal! — Sunny Singh (@ProfSunnySingh) June 2, 2025 In an X post responding to Miller's statement, investigative journalist Asa Winstanley wrote: "Matthew Miller without a doubt belongs in jail for the rest of his life."
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
What we know about the Colorado flamethrower attack
Dozens of protesters in Boulder, Colorado, rallying in support of Israeli captives in Gaza, were attacked on Sunday by a man using a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary devices, according to witnesses. At least eight people were injured during the attack, with two left in serious condition. Videos from the scene of the attack on social media showed black smoke clouds billowing in front of the county courthouse. Bystanders are seen running towards the victims lying on the ground. At least one man picks up a piece of clothing to douse a fire on top of what appears to be a moving body. Middle East Eye could not independently verify the videos. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The suspect can be seen shirtless, wearing sunglasses and holding bottles of clear liquid. Pacing back and forth, he argues with several people in the crowd as they wait for the police to arrive. Witnesses say they heard the man shouting "Free Palestine!' during the attack. The suspect The suspect was identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman. He entered the US from Egypt in August 2022 and stayed illegally after his visa expired in February 2023, according to Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022. 'The Colorado Terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country,' McLaughlin said on X. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who has spearheaded US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, posted on X that the suspect was a foreign national who "illegally overstayed (his) visa". Soliman can be heard in some videos screaming "End Zionists!" and "They are killers!" towards several people in red T-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground. Soliman was arrested at the scene and taken to a medical facility, where he was treated for minor injuries. He has been charged with a federal hate crime and murder in the first degree, plus other charges, according to court records. Links to Israel's war on Gaza? The FBI is investigating the attack as an 'act of terror.' Soliman, 45, was working in El Paso County. According to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, his bail has been set at $10m. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also described the Boulder incident as a "targeted terror attack", while attorney general Pam Bondi termed it "a horrific anti-Semitic attack". Soliman's attack marks the second in less than two weeks within the US where the suspects have invoked Israel's war on Gaza. Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed in Washington, DC, in May by an alleged attacker who shouted 'Free Palestine'. The alleged attacker, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, had criticised the Israeli and US governments for the war on Gaza in a social media post on X, titled 'Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home.' Israel's war on Gaza started after the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel. Since then, Israel's war on the enclave has killed more than 54,300 Palestinians. Israel has laid siege to the Gaza Strip, and the UN warns that 100 percent of its population is at risk of famine.
The National
4 hours ago
- The National
'No Other Land' directors fume as Israeli military blocks media trip to view settler violence
'The next time your politicians call this country the only democracy in the Middle East, film this so that they can see how democratic it really is. Film the reality and truth of what they're doing to us,' Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra told dozens of international journalists at the entrance to his village in the occupied West Bank, which had unexpectedly turned into a heavily manned Israeli military checkpoint. 'The only democracy in the Middle East is preventing international media from filming villages after settlers attacked them.' Exactly three months ago to the day, Adra, along with No Other Land co-directors Yuval Abraham and Hamdan Ballal, was on stage at the 97th Academy Awards to receive the award for Best Documentary. It was the first time a Palestinian film had won an Oscar. On Monday, those behind this remarkable achievement were reduced to arguing without success with masked Israeli forces to let their group through to the villages that have captured the world's attention. No Other Land documented the struggles of the residents of Masafer Yatta, a cluster of hamlets and villages, to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their communities. In the 1980s, the army designated it as a military training area, ordering residents to leave, a fate that has befallen many Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, particularly agricultural communities. Despite this, about 1,000 people have stayed in the area, including Adra and his family. The community has faced regular attacks from Israeli settlers. The violence intensified after the October 7, 2023 Hamas -led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. With international attention focused on the war, Israeli ministers in the far-right government, many themselves prominent settlers themselves, urged the seizure of Palestinian land. 'I think the film made a huge difference in the opinions of people all over the world … but sadly it did not make a difference for the people who have power. Israel is an ally of your countries. Here it is blocking journalists from these allied countries from visiting and seeing these crimes being committed,' said Abraham, an Israeli Jew, who made the trip from Jerusalem to help Adra's tour. On Sunday evening, the Israeli army declared the village of Khirbet Khallet Al Dabaa, where the tour was set to take place, a closed military zone, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. The day before, Israeli forces arrested two foreign activists working to support the communities in Masafer Yatta. Attacks on these communities rose to critical levels in the months after No Other Land was released, a situation that the filmmakers tried to show the world's media on Monday. Ballal was brutally attacked by a mob of Israeli settlers in March. 'There is destruction of water wells, pipes and solar panels. Settlers have come into the village and set up in the area under military protection. They have attacked children and pregnant women,' Adra said. Addressing the Israeli troops, whose numbers soon swelled to include more soldiers, as well as civilian and border police, he said: 'I have so many videos of settlers here to attack us and shoot us and you do nothing. Right now when journalists are here to see this and interview people you come to prevent them.' A softly spoken soldier, face covered with a balaclava, only reiterated that his forces were there to 'keep the public order'. 'Last week had a lot of disturbance to the order,' he added. 'In this crossroads, no journalists, no guests, to keep the order in the area. Right here you are a public disturbance.' These mild exchanges were the extent of the confrontations on Monday. Even the arrival of a senior Palestinian Authority official to observe the situation caused little commotion. But hours after the media left, the reports of violence and intimidation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank resumed, including the military reportedly shooting a minor and settlers using drones to intimidate Palestinian shepherds and their sheep near Bethlehem.
