Sara Kudah (CPJ): The world can no longer remain silent about the crimes.

**Written by: Jelena L. Petković**

Adding that, besides the fear for their own safety, journalists are also afraid for the lives of their loved ones, Kudah continues:

“Palestinian journalists are also exposed to hunger. Everyone in the world is talking about the lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza, and they are hungry and cannot find food. Even if they manage to find money to buy it, food is not available to them. The same applies to medical assistance, which is not accessible to everyone. Journalists and media workers are suffering in so many ways.”

The working conditions they endure to inform the world have been reduced to below any minimum:

“The majority of journalists no longer have homes; they live in tents. They are trying to find places where they can survive and work. The internet is available in Gaza, but there is a huge problem with connectivity. This is just part of the catastrophic conditions. On top of that, they are faced with smear campaigns that disqualify and discredit them as journalists, claiming they are terrorists or that they belong to Hamas, without any evidence. Such claims put journalists in serious danger, as they become targets.”

In Gaza, CPJ has also documented and informed the public that [Hamas is harassing and intimidating journalists](https://cpj.org/2025/05/gaza-journalists-speak-out-about-hamas-intimidation-threats-assaults/).

### The World Remains Silent

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, CPJ, based in New York, has been regularly calling on the international community to take urgent measures with these words:

“[Israel is undertaking the deadliest and most deliberate campaign of killing and silencing](https://cpj.org/full-coverage-israel-gaza-war/) journalists that the Committee to Protect Journalists has ever documented. Palestinian journalists are being tracked, directly targeted, and killed by Israeli forces, and are being arbitrarily detained and tortured in retaliation for their work.”

Publishing its report for 2024, CPJ stated that it was the “[deadliest year on record for journalists, with 70 percent killed by Israel](https://cpj.org/2025/02/deadliest-year-on-record-for-journalists-70-killed-by-israel/)”. Despite the horrific statistics from CPJ showing 197 journalists killed and 92 imprisoned since the start of the war in Gaza, global political leaders did not respond to the call from one of the world’s most powerful organizations focused on journalist protection, even 23 months later.

“That is the truth. Since the war began in Gaza, CPJ has documented violations of the law, killings, and targeting of journalists in Gaza. We have documented smear campaigns, hunger, called for the protection of journalists, and for access to be granted to international independent media to report from Gaza. We have called for accountability and justice for those journalists who have been killed. Both through public advocacy and behind closed doors, in direct contacts with politicians and governments. We have not seen any response until recently,” emphasizes Kudah, adding:

“Recently, we have started to notice some changes in narratives globally, in certain cases, especially in Europe, where governments have begun to respond to us. The reason there was no direct response cannot be fully defined, but there is a power dynamic that we all understand, where Israel has a very large and influential presence in the world, and thus there has been reluctance to respond to our public demands and advocacy efforts.”

CPJ is trying to assist journalists in Gaza both financially and with internal relocations.

“Unfortunately, evacuation from Gaza is very limited. CPJ faces the same limitations as other organizations, whether they are press freedom organizations or humanitarian ones trying to evacuate civilians from Gaza, and they are failing in that. However, we are trying to provide them with shelters, tents, and internet access, if we are able.”

### Overall Increase in Violence Against Journalists

The tragic situation for journalists and the media does not end there. Since October 2023, CPJ has recorded concentric circles of violence, censorship, and pressure on media and journalists in both the West Bank and Israel.

“We have documented increased hostility toward journalists in Israel, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. This is directed at those who try to speak out, seek access to Gaza to document and see what is happening, or attempt to defend colleagues in Gaza. Many journalists have faced intimidation and have been summoned for questioning. Some have been arrested or placed under house arrest. This is happening to both Palestinian and Israeli journalists. We have documented the intimidation of an Israeli journalist from Haaretz. International journalists in Israel and the West Bank are also being intimidated. Sometimes their equipment is confiscated or broken by police. This happened a few weeks ago to a Deutsche Welle team when they tried to report on an incident in Ramallah,” explains Sara Kudah, adding that the pattern of questioning is expanding online, affecting Palestinian, Israeli, and international journalists outside Gaza.

### Footage Cannot Be Denied

Many Palestinian journalists use social media to inform the public. While clips showing bombings, collapsing buildings, and bloody scenes receive hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram, they simultaneously leave a question in their wake – if politicians are silent, what about the citizens?

“Unfortunately, we tend to turn a blind eye when consuming news and are selective in what we want to believe. Until recently, the Israeli narrative dominated. That is the reality. This is also due to the lack of international media reporting on what is happening in Gaza from the perspective of Palestinians living there. Recently, we have started to see and hear more voices, especially in Europe. From the very beginning, there have been voices in South Africa and the Middle East. You can no longer deny the footage, images, and videos you are constantly receiving from Gaza. You can no longer deny that there is a war and that what is happening in Gaza is serious on so many levels,” emphasizes Kudah, explaining:

“That is why more people are in the streets, more are protesting, and questioning the official narrative of the governments or Israel. Governments have started to change their narratives, responding to the footage. Unfortunately, we have only reached this point after we had to see babies and children dying from hunger. Unfortunately, people react only after 23 months of documented live war in Gaza. A war that international organizations like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, and the United Nations have described as genocide. It is very sad that people are only speaking up after almost two years, but it is important that we continue to speak out and raise awareness.”

The decisive word, however, lies with politics.

“The first thing that must happen to stop this is to take political and legal action against Israel to compel them to respect international law, protect journalists as civilians, and uphold freedom of expression. This attack is not just an attack on the lives of civilians but on press freedom, which should be protected by all laws. More legal and political actions must be taken, and pressure must be exerted on Israel to compel them to adhere to international law,” underscores our interlocutor.

### Europe Must Speak Out

When asked what organizations in Europe can do, Sara Kudah emphasizes that international media should “amplify the voices of Palestinian journalists so their stories are heard,” as well as adhere to ethical standards in reporting.

“International media are unable to enter Gaza to document, but that does not mean they do not have a role. They have a role in amplifying the voices of colleagues in Gaza, as well as verifying and investigating any claims made by IDF officials or Israel when they say that a journalist was killed because they were a terrorist. Before sharing that information, international media have an ethical obligation and journalistic duty to verify it. They can also continue to pressure their governments to allow them access to Gaza and to report, as well as insist on investigations into the killings of civilians as war crimes.”

Most importantly, our interlocutor appeals, “Neither Israel nor any other country should be allowed to target journalists and kill them with complete impunity, without independent investigations and accountability, and to inflict injustice on them and their families.”

“This should not happen anywhere in the world. And if Israel today ‘gets away’ with these crimes, it could set a precedent in other war and conflict zones around the world where armies and governments can kill journalists and go completely unpunished, with no justice for those killings. It is very important to always keep in mind that accountability is crucial. Not only to bring justice to the victims and their families but also to protect journalists who are still alive within and outside war zones. Because today we have a war in Gaza, but you never know when a war might break out in another country, and we will not be able to protect journalists in those countries,” emphasizes Sara Kudah.