'A journey of death': How journalists have spent year covering Israel-Hamas war

Washington/New York — 

One twelvemonth has passed since Hamas launched a convulsive onslaught connected confederate Israel, triggering a deadly struggle and an unprecedented fig of writer deaths. Twelve months on, journalists are continuing to navigate however to screen the conflict.

When Tareq Hajjaj, a Gaza analogous for the quality website Mondoweiss, ventured into the tract to report, helium said helium sometimes saw Israeli warplanes and drones circling supra and disquieted that helium would beryllium killed.

"Every clip I was going to bash a communicative to study something, I was feeling that decease is truthful close, similar successful immoderate 2nd I tin beryllium killed," Hajjaj told VOA from Cairo.

The writer was permitted to permission Gaza for Egypt successful April, but helium inactive reports connected the warfare from afar.

Founded arsenic a progressive quality site, Mondoweiss has faced disapproval for what immoderate accidental are anti-Israel views and an activistic approach.

"That was truly unsafe to spell successful the tract to report. It was a travel of decease each day," helium added.

Figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists, oregon CPJ, bespeak that danger.

As of October 4, astatine slightest 128 journalists and media workers person been killed since the warfare began connected October 7 past year,making the warfare the deadliest struggle connected grounds for journalists.

Journalists successful Gaza person borne the brunt of the violence. Of the journalists killed, 123 of them — oregon astir 96% — were Palestinian, according to CPJ.

"They carnivore the afloat value of work of reporting connected the interaction of the warfare connected Gaza," CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg told VOA successful New York.

The precocious complaint of killed journalists has raised concerns that the Israeli subject is deliberately targeting the media, according to Ginsberg.

"That is peculiarly worrying due to the fact that journalists are civilians and indispensable ne'er beryllium targeted successful war, and that would represent a warfare crime," she said.

Two Israeli journalists and 3 Lebanese journalists person besides been killed since the warfare began, according to CPJ.

The 2 Israeli journalists were among astir 1,200 radical killed by Hamas militants successful the archetypal October 7 attack. Hamas besides captured astir 250 hostages.

Israel's counteroffensive successful Gaza, meanwhile, has killed much than 41,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not separate betwixt civilians and combatants. More than 95,000 others person been injured successful Israel's bombardments, which person each but reduced the tiny enclave of Gaza to rubble.

In effect to a petition for comment, Israel's Foreign Ministry referred VOA to the Israel Defense Forces, oregon IDF. The IDF did not reply to VOA's email requesting comment.

Threats to writer information — peculiarly successful Gaza — are among the astir pressing issues facing reporters arsenic they screen the war, according to media experts. While those successful Gaza person recovered themselves preoccupied with survival, journalists are besides tasked with the further work of covering and explaining what is happening to section and planetary audiences.

In the past, Hamas has harassed and arrested journalists successful Gaza implicit their reporting, but CPJ has not received immoderate reports of the U.S.-designated violent radical targeting journalists since the warfare began.

Last year, the Israeli subject said it could not warrant the information of journalists successful Gaza. The subject has besides said it does not people journalists. But property state groups and different analysts aren't convinced.

"It utilized to beryllium that if you wore an insignia saying you were with the property oregon you're with tv that that would support you. I deliberation we recognize present that wearing that benignant of insignia makes you a target," John Daniszewski, standards exertion astatine The Associated Press, told VOA from New York.

Daniszewski added that the warfare is the astir polarizing contented helium has covered successful his career.

"One broadside oregon the different is precise acrophobic that their victimhood is not being centered," helium said.

Another contented that makes covering the warfare much hard is deficiency of access, since Israel tightly restricts media entree to Gaza. The lone mode for journalists to participate Gaza is by embedding with the IDF, but those infrequent trips are highly controlled, with journalists seeing lone what the Israeli subject permits them to see.

In aboriginal September, the Foreign Press Association, oregon FPA, successful Israel reiterated its calls for the Israeli authorities to let accrued autarkic entree for journalists successful Gaza.

"This is simply a highly excessive measurement that is unprecedented successful standard and scope and duration and runs antagonistic to the tenets of ideology and state of the press," erstwhile FPA chairperson Dan Perry told VOA astir the choky restrictions. Now a Tel Aviv-based columnist, Perry antecedently worked arsenic the Jerusalem bureau main for The Associated Press.

Restricted media entree to Gaza risks hampering planetary audiences' knowing of what's happening successful the territory, according to Ginsberg, and increases the abstraction for misinformation and disinformation to flourish.

"It means that we are not capable to needfully get a afloat representation of what's happening successful Gaza," she said.

A throughline implicit the past twelvemonth has besides been the Israeli government's targeting of the Qatari quality outlet Al Jazeera.

In May, the Israeli authorities unopen down the outlet implicit alleged nationalist information concerns successful a determination that property state groups condemned. Al Jazeera reporters inactive cannot study from wrong Israel.

Then successful precocious September, the Israeli subject raided Al Jazeera's bureau successful the metropolis of Ramallah successful the occupied West Bank and forced the bureau to cease operations for astatine slightest 45 days. The closure bid accuses Al Jazeera of incitement and supporting "terrorism."

"The raid connected the bureau and seizure of our instrumentality is not lone an onslaught connected Al Jazeera, but an affront to property state and the precise principles of journalism," Al Jazeera said successful a statement.

During the raid, Israeli soldiers tore down a poster of U.S.-Palestinian Al Jazeera writer Shireen Abu Akleh, who was changeable successful the caput and killed successful 2022 portion covering an Israeli service cognition successful the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli subject has said the writer was likely, but unintentionally, changeable by an Israeli soldier. No 1 has been held accountable for her killing.

"The shutdown of Al Jazeera is portion and parcel of a overmuch broader effort by Israel to censor the media," Ginsberg said.

Back successful Gaza, 1 of the biggest challenges that journalists look is the abundance of stories determination are to tell, according to Hajjaj. "There ever are much stories that request to beryllium done," helium said.

Although astir fractional a twelvemonth has passed since Hajjaj managed to permission Gaza for Egypt, helium says his location ne'er feels that acold away.

"Even if my assemblage near Gaza, each my senses are inactive there," helium said.