Media companies from Germany are demanding that the governments of Israel and Egypt grant their journalists access to report on the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
In an open letter published on Tuesday the organizations say that after almost a year of war the governments are still preventing journalists from reporting "unaccompanied and independently" in Gaza. "The almost total exclusion of international media from a crisis of this enormous global scope is unprecedented in recent history," it continues.
The letter has been signed by editors-in-chief and directors of both public and private national media organizations, including some of the country's biggest outlets such as news journal Der Spiegel, daily newspaper Die Zeit, tabloid Bild, public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, international broadcaster Deutsche Welle and others, as well as the organizations Reporters Without Borders and the German Association of Journalists.
It was also signed by dpa editor-in-chief Sven Gösmann, who said that "nothing is more truthful than the eyewitness accounts of independent journalists - especially for us as a news agency. That's why we support the demand to enable this independent reporting."
The open letter was sent on Monday and is personally addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.
It says that the news organizations "are not a party to the conflict," and makes the point that those who make independent reporting on this war impossible are damaging their own credibility. "Anyone who prohibits us from working in the Gaza Strip is creating the conditions for human rights to be violated."
The appeal concludes that "we are aware of our risk. We are prepared to take it. Grant us access to the Gaza Strip. Let us work - in the interest of all!"
The war began after the attack by terrorists from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 1,200 people were killed in Israel in the attack, and around 250 others were taken hostage in Gaza.
According to the local authorities, which are controlled by Hamas, the number of people killed in Gaza since the start of the war has risen to more than 41,000. The figure does not distinguish between combatants and civilians and is almost impossible to verify.
The Gaza Strip itself is effectively sealed off.
In the open letter, the media organizations demand general access from the Israeli side, and access from Egypt via the Rafah border crossing.
Only a few international journalists have been able to travel to the Gaza Strip, accompanied by the Israeli army.
A separate open letter from numerous journalists was published on Monday. Among other things, they demand the lifting of an Israeli entry ban on independent international reporters travelling to the war zone.
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