Consortium Of French Journalists Calls For Access To Gaza
30.10.2023 - 21:29
/ deadline.com
A group of French journalists has issued an open letter calling on Israel and Egypt to allow international correspondents to enter the Gaza Strip to cover the situation on the ground.
The Palestinian territory has been cut off from the outside world since the deadly Hamas terror attack on Southern Israel on October 7, which killed 1,400 people and resulted in the taking of more than 220 hostages, most of them civilians.
International journalists can usually cross in and out of the Gaza Strip from Israel via the heavily fortified Erez border crossing, which is managed by the Israeli Defense Forces.
The one requirement is that they are in possession of a press card issued by Israel’s Government Press Office.
The crossing was badly damaged by Hamas on October 7 and is now out-of-bounds for all non-military personnel as Israel steps up its bombing campaign and ground incursion aimed at wiping out Hamas and getting the hostages back.
Gaza’s Rafah Crossing into Egypt is also closed for people traffic with limited aid supplies getting in and out after being checked by Israeli troops.
“After a 16-year blockade, Gaza has been subjected to a total siege since October 10. No-one is allowed in or out of the Palestinian territory,” read the letter.
“We have been able to gather accounts of the victims of the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, we must be allowed to work in security to recount what is going on in Gaza.”
They noted that international correspondents had been allowed into the territory during the 2014 Gaza War, in which Israel launched Operation Protective Edge.
“During the summer of 2014, the Israeli army opened access to the international press, thus guaranteeing our freedom to inform. This is no longer the