Dozens of Palestinian journalists are murdered cold-bloodedly day after day. The international press is banned from entering the country. A general news blackout. Israel has no credibility in its claims when it denies the evidence of humanitarian agency technicians about the hunger and genocide suffered by the population. It must now allow the independent international press into the Strip so it can freely report on what is happening. ARA joins the Reporters Without Borders campaign, which estimates the number of murdered journalists at 250, to demand that Israel stop persecuting the press and allow the reporters to enter.
Just as with the Gaza flotilla that left Barcelona yesterday in an attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Strip, the gesture that some 150 media outlets around the world are making today in joining the Reporters Without Borders campaign is symbolic. But sometimes symbols, actions, demonstrations, and protests have an effect. International pressure on Israel must be intensified to stop the war and this massacre, which has so far killed at least 60,000 people and is causing hunger that particularly affects the weakest, children, and the elderly. The destruction in Gaza has now reached levels that make any kind of justification difficult. The attacks of October 7, 2023, were abominable, but in no way do they give carte blanche to exterminate an entire population and raze the territory as is being done.
We all remember images and journalistic accounts that marked a turning point in the wars of the 20th century. The press has certainly been used by the various sides when they could, but in what was and is the free world until now, it has also been a key witness in explaining to the world what was happening and raising public awareness about the effects on the civilian population. Freedom of the press is a basic pillar of democracy and human rights. Without free information, there is no possibility of free decision-making. That is why it is essential to defend it in all circumstances, and even more so in a world like today's, where networks and the digital environment allow for all kinds of falsifications and manipulations. Increasingly, what counts is rigorous reporting from a media outlet that takes responsibility for what it publishes and from journalists who explain firsthand what they see and feel. Trust in the person and the media is key, and that is why we must be able to be there.
The information blackout that Israel intends to impose on the Strip to prevent witnesses to its massacre is impossible. As long as there is a Palestinian with a cell phone, there will be a witness to the barbarity, and it is not worth undermining their credibility by assuming that everyone in the Strip is a terrorist, even children, because even Israeli soldiers themselves have made videos and posted on social media some of the atrocities committed by the State of Israel. It cannot hide it. It makes no sense, therefore, to prevent international journalists from entering the Strip and explaining, with professionalism and rigor, what they see. Therefore, we join the outcry against the massacre of journalists in Gaza and the unanimous call for the international press to be allowed into the Strip.
