GAZA: Israel’s government has told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place due to security risks in the Palestinian territory, according to a court submission. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory. Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza on a case-by-case basis, embedded with its military forces inside the blockaded territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition with the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking immediate and unrestricted access for international media to the Gaza Strip. Since then, the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with a plan, but at a hearing last month, it set January 4 as a final deadline. — AFP
