The conversation “could not be more timely or more necessary,” said Melissa Fleming, head of the Department of Global Communications (DGC) that organized the 2025 United Nations International Media Seminar on Middle East Peace.
“This seminar invites us to consider how journalism in Israel and Palestine, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, has become both a battlefield and a lifeline,” he said.
“Unacceptable ban” on foreign press: Guterres
Ms. Fleming read a message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said that “journalists in Gaza have faced the same risks and realities as the people they cover, including displacement, hunger and death.”
Furthermore, the rules of war are clear: civilians and civilian infrastructure are not a target, and journalists must be able to carry out their essential work without interference, intimidation or harm.
“This includes the unacceptable ban preventing international journalists from accessing Gaza,” he said.
Doing your duty
Following the deadly Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, Gaza came under complete siege.
Wael Al-Dahdouh, head of the Gaza bureau of the Al Jazeera network, recalled that the enclave was isolated and the supply of water, electricity, communications and the internet was cut off.
However, journalists continued to work amid bombings, deprivation, personal loss and displacement.
“We felt so many responsibilities towards you, towards the whole world,” he said in a video message.
“Because we realized that if we do not do our duty with our will, even if the cost is our lives, then the world will not see what is happening to two million people in this area as a result of the Israeli genocide.”
Putting pressure on Israel: Mansour
The Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine, Riyad Mansour, saluted “the brave Palestinian journalists in Gaza” since “thanks to them, this genocide in Gaza has become the most documented in history.”
He called on participants to pressure Israel to allow the entry of foreign journalists.
“We should ask ourselves why Israel does not allow foreign aid into Gaza. Let us not accept their security pretext. Foreign journalists were allowed into all war zones except Gaza,” he said.
Protection, access and accountability
Jodie Ginsberg, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), stressed the need for protection and independent access to Gaza, as well as accountability.
He stressed that “allowing international access to Gaza is not a reflection on Palestinian journalists” but “a norm that we should insist on and support for those Palestinian journalists.”
Family members were also attacked
Nasser Abu Bakr, president of the Palestinian Journalists’ Union, reported that more than 255 journalists were killed in Gaza, representing 18 percent of the total number in the Strip.
More than 500 people were injured and Israel arrested more than 200 more people who were subjected to extreme torture in prison. In addition, relatives of journalists were also killed or attacked.
He said the union and the International Union of Journalists are willing to cooperate with the Secretary-General to present a report detailing the systemic crimes perpetrated against journalists in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Furthermore, the time has come to implement UN Security Council resolution 2222 (2015) that condemns impunity for crimes against journalists.
“We want this resolution to be implemented on the occupation and for those in the occupation state to be held accountable for these crimes against our journalists,” he said in a video message.
Journalism vital for peace
The Secretary-General’s message confirmed the United Nations’ unwavering commitment to achieving a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, and the work of journalists is vital to building the informed global consensus necessary to achieve this goal.
The UN chief expressed hope that the dialogue would “strengthen respect for press freedom and the protection and safety of journalists in the Middle East” and help lay the foundation for a just and lasting peace.