History will favor witnesses. Within the Gaza Strip, it will remember the name of Anas al-Sharif, a young Al Jazeera reporter fatally targeted on 10 August 2025. It will also acknowledge the over two hundred other Palestinian journalists targeted in the past two years by the Israeli army, according to the International Federation of Journalists’ own monitoring. But those who decided to target these media workers will remain condemned forever.
A Deadly Occupation in the Gaza Strip
For two full years, Gaza has turned into the deadliest zone in the world to practise our profession. Israeli authorities ban international reporters from accessing the region, so the reality depends solely on Palestinian reporters – almost all of whom are members of a syndicate for Palestinian journalists. Too often they report without security and without refuge for their families. And consistently, they are intentionally attacked.
Historically has the field of reporting seen such a massacre in its ranks.
The International Federation of Journalists, founded in 1926 and marking its 100th anniversary in the French capital in May 2026, has recorded no comparable death toll since its inception, neither during the second world war, nor in Vietnam, Korea, Syria, the Afghan war or Iraq. The Gaza Strip has emerged as the deadliest burial site for media professionals in recent history.
A Deliberate Plan
But this is not a series of accidental tragedies. It is a deliberate approach: eliminate those who document, close Gaza, dominate the reporting. Preventing the international press from entering means silencing independent foreign observers to this conflict. And at a time when Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is vowing to reoccupy Gaza, shaping the story is as crucial as commanding the region. Occupation implies removing the destruction, the dead, the survivors and those who tell their stories.
No Safe Haven
From the northern border to the main urban center, countless civilians have been forced to flee south. But even there the southern zones provide no protection: it guarantees no protection or exit. Civilians are crowded, stuck between shelling and the water, with no opportunity to leave the atrocities of this war. This situation of complete blockade is also that of reporters, forced to operate in a confined area where survival becomes more improbable every day.
Symbolic Recognition
In this environment, the acknowledgment of Palestinian statehood by a expanding list of states at the UN is symbolic. But it arrives belatedly. It does not protect the living or bring justice to the dead. Political efforts are following reality, but only subsequent to permanent loss.
Who Protects These Witnesses?
So, who safeguards these observers? It is not the ineffective global organization nor the leading nations, implicated via weapon supplies and inaction. Palestinian journalists carry on their task solo, until complete fatigue. Until death.
Taking Action
The IFJ, for its part, is taking action on the ground. It personally aids media workers and their relatives through its worldwide security program. It describes the routine existence of its fellow journalists, one journalist, another reporter and additional media professionals, so that their harsh truth is not diminished to simple numbers. And for several years now, it has been advocating for an global UN treaty that would oblige states to protect journalists and punish their killers. Prior to such a treaty being established, impunity will prevail and shield the Israeli authorities behind these actions.
"No article equals the value of a person".
This essential reminder stressed repeatedly by the IFJ, to correspondents and news personnel holding international press cards is: "No story is worth a human life". This is not just a saying: it is a guideline for preservation. The purpose of reporters is not to become casualties but to report in safety. Their security is a communal obligation. All safety headgear, every bulletproof vest, each security and dangerous situation instruction program is crucial.
The Reason to Persist
In Gaza, countless media professionals are asking themselves, "Why persist?" The proof is accumulating, the reports are multiplying and yet nothing is changing. But surrendering would be more damaging because inaction supports the aggressors. It allows them to say that no events occurred.
A Century of Journalism
One hundred years after its creation, the IFJ encounters the most severe trial in its history. Gaza has become journalism's graveyard. If we tolerate journalists perishing there with apathy, then we create precedent for other governments to consider that the murder of journalists is a normal instrument of war.
An Appeal for Response
Anas al-Sharif did not want to die. He sought to report to humanity, in safety. His demise, and that of our hundreds of fellow journalists compels us to act.
Israeli forces target reporters. Attacking media workers equals destroying facts. And a planet without reality is a globe where aggressors control everything.
