The Israeli army started attacks on the Gaza Strip on 27 December, and around 900 Palestinians have died in attacks in the last 16 days.

 Do not exclude press

 In its letter of appeal, the organisation says:

“We, the news media of the entire world, join the international press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders in urging the Israeli authorities to allow our reporters back into the Gaza Strip.”

“In view of the scale of the military operations and the repercussion they are having throughout the world, we believe the Israeli government’s decision to exclude the press from the Gaza Strip is untenable and dangerous.”

“It is incomprehensible that Israel is preventing the press from providing independent coverage of events that concern us all.”

“There is only one solution to this situation: while taking the necessary security measures, the Israeli authorities must grant immediate access to the Gaza Strip to the media personnel who have been sent to cover this conflict.”

Two Iranian reporters arrested in Jerusalem

Meanwhile, Kadir Şahin, a reporter for the Iran-based El Alam TV station, and his assistant Muhammed Sahran were arrested in Jerusalem on 5 January. They have been accused of violating censorship rules and they will be detained until 11 January. The police is preparing an indictment for “state security violations”.

One local reporter dead, one's home hit

Local radio reporter Ala Mortaci died in the evening of 9 January when an Israeli tank bombed his house in the Zeytun neighbourhood. The house of another local journalist, Samir Khalife, was hit.

Journalists attacked in Amman and Algiers

Reporters Without Borders regrets that Hocine Ben Rabie, a reporter with the Arabic-language daily Ennahar, sustained serious head injuries in unclear circumstances during a similar pro-Palestinian demonstration in Algiers yesterday. He was taken to the Mustapha Pacha hospital in the city centre where he was reported to be in a serious condition and underwent an operation.

900 dead

In the last 16 days, Israel first carried out air attakcs, and then began ground operations against the Gaza Strip. So far around 900 Palestinians, 275 of them children, have died and up to 4,000 have been wounded. On the Israeli side, 13 people have died. Hamas has launched 550 rockets into the south of Israel since the beginning of operations. (EÖ/AG)