A letter signed by more than 60 broadcasters and news organisations from around the world calling for access to Gaza to report on the war has been published in full.
Entry to the narrow strip for journalists has been all but impossible without the permission and supervision of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The open letter has been co-ordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Sky News is among the signatories.
The Israeli government and IDF have been approached for comment.
Here is the letter in full:
We, the undersigned, 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.Nine months into the war, international reporters are still being denied access to Gaza except for rare and escorted trips arranged by the Israeli military. 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. More than 100 journalists have been killed since the start of the war and those who remain are working in conditions of extreme deprivation. The result is that information from Gaza is becoming harder and harder to obtain and that the reporting which does get through is subject to repeated questions over its veracity.We fully understand the inherent risks in reporting from war zones. These are risks that many of our organizations have taken over decades in order to investigate, document developments as they occur, and understand the impacts of wars the world over.A free and independent press is the cornerstone of democracy. We ask that Israel uphold its commitments to press freedom by providing foreign media with immediate, independent access to Gaza, and that Israel abides by its international obligations to protect journalists as civilians.
READ MORE: Our first mission as journalists is to tell the full story – Alex Crawford, special correspondent
Letter signatories:
ABC News, United StatesAgence France-Presse, FranceAlternative Press Syndicate, LebanonArab Reporters for Investigative JournalismAsian American Journalists Association, United StatesAssociated Press, United StatesAssociation for International Broadcasting, United KingdomAssociation of Foreign Press Correspondents, United StatesBangladeshi Journalists in International Media, BangladeshBBC News, United KingdomBianet, TurkeyBloomberg News, United StatesCBS News, United StatesCNN Worldwide, United StatesCommunity Media Forum Europe, BelgiumCTV News, CanadaDaily Maverick, South AfricaDaraj, LebanonDenik Referendum, Czech RepublicEuropean Broadcasting Union, SwitzerlandEuropean Federation of JournalistsFinancial Times, United KingdomForbidden Stories, Francefotosintesi.info, ItalyGlobal Investigative Journalism NetworkGlobal Reporting Centre, CanadaInternational Association of Women in Radio and TelevisionInternational Centre for Journalists, United StatesInternational Fund for Public Interest MediaInternational News Safety Institute, United KingdomITN, United KingdomLe Mauricien, MauritiusMcLatchy, United StatesMedia Development Centre, TunisiaMedia Diversity Institute, United KingdomNational Association of Hispanic Journalists, United StatesNational Union of Journalists of the Philippines, The PhilippinesNBC News, United States Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University, United StatesNPR, United StatesOrganised Crime and Corruption Reporting ProjectPremium Times, NigeriaProspect Magazine, United KingdomPublic Media AlliancePulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting, United StatesRory Peck Trust, United KingdomRTÉ News & Current Affairs, IrelandRural Media Network, PakistanSky News, United KingdomSMN24Media, Sri LankaSomali Media Women Association, SomaliaSveriges Radio, SwedenThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism, United KingdomThe Guardian, United KingdomThe Irish Times, IrelandThe New York Times, United StatesThe Washington Post, United StatesTwala, AlgeriaVocento, SpainVRT News, BelgiumWattan MediaWorld Association for Christian CommunicationWorld Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), GermanyYle News and Current Affairs, Finland
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Source : Sky News
