Dozens of major news organisations urge Israel to allow open access to Gaza

More than 60 media and civil society organisations have signed a letter urging Israel to give journalists independent access to the besieged Gaza Strip.

“We…request that Israeli authorities end immediately the restrictions on foreign media entering Gaza and grant independent access to international news organizations seeking to access the territory,” the letter said.

The companies and organisations said that Israel’s tight control of who enters Gaza has restricted reporting to those who achieve “rare and escorted trips arranged by the Israeli military”, adding that “This effective ban on foreign reporting has placed an impossible and unreasonable burden on local reporters to document a war through which they are living.”

Middle East Eye, whose reporters are on the ground in Gaza, is a signatory to the letter. Other prominent media companies like ABC; Bloomberg; NBC; NPR; CBS; The Financial Times; The New York Times; and The Washington Post also signed the letter.

Read more: Dozens of major news organisations urge Israel to allow open access to Gaza