Nearly 200 journalists including experienced war correspondents and photojournalists, as well as leading press freedom NGOs have issued a demand for immediate, unhindered foreign press access to Gaza, and respect for journalists’ protected status under international law to report from inside Gaza.
Signatories include Christiane Amanpour, Lindsey Hilsum, Mehdi Hassan and war photographer Don McCullin, and the Association of European Journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders.
The petition issued on 4 August 2025 calls for:
• Immediate authorization from Israeli and Hamas authorities to allow independent foreign journalists access to Gaza.
• Respect for journalists’ protected status under international law, including the Geneva Conventions.
• Support from media organizations, civil society, and governments worldwide to defend the principle that truth must never be dictated by those who wield weapons or control borders.
The petition is part of an open and ongoing international invitation to all journalists, media workers, and defenders of press freedom to take a stand. In a demonstration defining professional unity and with the support of key organizations like the AEJ, CPJ, and RSF, the initiative Freedom to Report was started by award-winning war photographer André Liohn, recipient of the Robert Capa Gold Medal. It was inspired by the legacy of fallen colleagues who gave their lives in pursuit of truth, including Marie Colvin, James Foley, Chris Hondros, Tim Hetherington and others.
“This is not a call to be heard,” says Liohn. “We demand that independent, professional journalists be allowed into Gaza. What’s happening today is not only a humanitarian blackout, but also an information blackout, and it must end”.
Freedom to Report Petition for Immediate and Unsupervised Foreign Press Access to Gaza
We, the undersigned journalists, media professionals, and supporters of press freedom, demand immediate and unrestricted access for foreign journalists to the Gaza Strip.
This is not only about Gaza.
It is about defending the universal right to independent, on-the-ground reporting in conflict zones everywhere.
We are gravely concerned about the escalating wave of censorship across the world. By all measures, Gaza is the most urgent case, but it is not the only one. It reflects the gravest pattern of silencing journalists and restricting the press. If the democratic world truly intends to push back against this erosion of freedom, it must not turn a blind eye to Gaza. Defending press access there is defending press freedom everywhere.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 1,139 people have been killed in Israel, including at least 695 civilians, during the Hamas-led attack. By July 2025, over 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, including thousands of children, doctors, UN staff, and humanitarian workers. Millions have been forcibly displaced and lost everything they owned. There is credible evidence that hunger has been systematically used as a weapon of war, and on July 25 more than 100 international aid agencies released a statement warning that Israel’s blockade was pushing Palestinians in Gaza towards starvation. Allegations of war crimes are rife. It must be in the interest of all parties to have these allegations investigated by independent journalists.
While the events in Israel were widely covered by international media, with access initially restricted but ultimately granted, Gaza remains sealed off for foreign journalists. The Israeli government has imposed unprecedented restrictions on foreign media, barring international journalists from entering Gaza independently and reporting freely. During this period, nearly 200 journalists have been killed, the vast majority Palestinian, making this the deadliest conflict for the press ever recorded.
These restrictions deprive the world of an impartial account and obstruct the path to accountability.
Unrestricted, independent access for foreign journalists is urgently needed, not only to document the unfolding atrocities but to ensure that the truth of this war is not dictated by those who control the weapons and the narrative.
We demand:
Immediate authorization from both Israel and Hamas authorities to allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza to report independently.
We support:
If the belligerent parties ignore our appeal, the undersigned journalists affirm their support for professional media colleagues who, by any legitimate means, independently, collectively, or in coordination with humanitarian or civil society actors, choose to enter Gaza without the consent of the parties involved. As demonstrated by the legacy of our fallen colleagues, including Marie Colvin, James Foley, Chris Hondros, Tim Hetherington, Remí Ochlik and Steven Sotloff, it is ethically legitimate for journalists to enter conflict zones without official approval when the urgency of bearing witness outweighs the silence imposed by political or military agendas.
This petition calls on:
1. The Israeli government to lift restrictions immediately.
2. Armed groups to guarantee the safety of journalists and respect their protected status under the Geneva Conventions.
Geneva Convention (IV) – Article 4 & Article 79 of Additional Protocol I (1977):
Journalists are considered civilians if they are not taking a direct part in hostilities.
Additional Protocol I (1977), Article 79:
“Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians…”
3. Governments, press freedom organizations, and civil society to stand with us.
4. Media organizations we work with — whether as staff or freelancers — to stand with us, as they have consistently done in defense of press freedom.
This is not a political statement. It is a principled stand for freedom of the press, a cornerstone of democracy and accountability, especially in times of war.
Journalism cannot stop. The world has a right to know.
