Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced Friday that broadcasting from those locations without advance, written permission, would be a criminal offense, as Israel seeks to control reporting about its week-old conflict with Iran.

“We are deeply concerned by the Israeli authorities’ escalating efforts to suppress press freedom through censorship and intimidation,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Journalists must be allowed to report on the Iran-Israel conflict without obstruction or fear of retaliation. Silencing the press deprives the world of a clear, unfiltered view of the reality unfolding in the region.”

On Thursday, Israeli police said they stopped international media transmitting live broadcasts from missile landing sites, which revealed their exact locations, including “news agencies through which Al Jazeera was illegally broadcasting.” That same day, the Government Press Office banned live broadcasts from crash sites.

The Union of Journalists in Israel denounced the move and said there were no teams filming in Israel for Al Jazeera, which purchases live broadcasts from other international networks operating legally in Israel. Israel banned Al Jazeera’s operations in the country in May, citing security concerns.

On June 18, IDF military censors issued an order, which CPJ reviewed, requiring anyone seeking to broadcast, including via social media, the aftermath of Iranian rocket and drone attacks on Israel’s military sites to obtain prior approval from the army.

On June 16, Israeli police raided a hotel in the northern port city of Haifa where Palestinian journalists were covering the attacks, confiscated their equipment, and launched an investigation.

CPJ emailed the police, the IDF’s North America Media Desk, and the government spokesperson requesting comment but did not immediately receive a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

Yuval Abraham, an Israeli film director and journalist with the independent news +972 Magazine, said on February 27 that he canceled his flight home to Israel after receiving death threats following his acceptance speech at the Berlin International Film Festival. 

The speech was characterized as “antisemitic” by several high-level German and Israeli officials, including the mayor of the German capitol, Berlin, and Israel’s ambassador to Germany.

Abraham and his Palestinian co-director Basel Adra accepted two awards on February 25 for their documentary “No Other Land,” which chronicled Israeli authorities’ evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank.

During his acceptance speech, Abraham called for equality for Israelis and Palestinians, a ceasefire in Gaza, and decried the “situation of apartheid.” “We are standing in front of you now, me and Basel are the same age. I am Israeli; Basel is Palestinian. And in two days, we will go back to a land where we are not equal,” Abraham said. 

Abraham’s family fled their home in the night, fearing for their safety, after a “right-wing Israeli mob” came to the home in search of the journalist and threatened them, according to the journalist’s February 27 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and a report by his outlet.

“We are deeply alarmed by the death threats received by Israeli film director Yuval Abraham, as they illustrate an atmosphere of self-censorship and anti-press rhetoric in Israel, which has been expanding since the Israel-Gaza war,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. “Israeli authorities must ensure the necessary protection for all journalists, regardless of their views, and hold accountable those who threaten journalists and their family members.”

Israeli public broadcaster Kan News labeled the speech “antisemitic” during a report, which they later removed after Abraham wrote the outlet a letter demanding such, as well as an on-air and written apology. As of February 29, Kan has not issued a public apology.

Abraham is a well-known Israeli journalist and his reporting on the use of artificial intelligence by the Israel Defense Forces in its war on Gaza is one of +972 magazine’s top five most-read features. CPJ’s messages to Abraham did not immediately receive a reply.

Since the October 7, 2023, start of the Israel-Gaza war, Israeli and international journalists working from Israel have reported physical assaults and threats. 

Itamar Cohen, a journalist with the Israel-based media outlet News 360, was covering a stabbing in Jerusalem’s Old City on February 11, 2024, when a group of Israeli police officers removed him from the area despite him identifying himself as a journalist, according to a report by the Israeli news website Israel National News and a statement by The Union of Journalists in Israel.

“They drew truncheons and beat me until I bled, at least eight times. The officers were the same ones who had attacked my journalist friends before, and they recognized me from previous encounters,” Cohen told Israel National News, adding that when he requested medical care, an officer beat and broke his hand. “He then instructed other officers not to speak to me but to continue beating me aggressively.”

The Israel Police suspended the officer on February 12 and issued a statement saying, “One of the officers took action, apparently using force in a manner inconsistent with the values of the police, and the commander of the Border Police has ordered him suspended until the incident has been clarified.”

CPJ’s email to the Israel Police for comment about Abraham and Cohen did not immediately receive a response.

On October 16, 2023, Israeli journalist and columnist Israel Frey went into hiding after his home was attacked the previous day by a mob of far-right Israelis after he expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Alkharouf, a photojournalist with Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, was covering Friday prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on December 15 when a group of Israeli Border Police officers attacked him, according to Anadolu Agency, footage shared by The Union of Journalists in Israel, and news reports.

The officers initially brandished their weapons at Alkharouf, punched him, and then threw him to the ground, kicking him. Alkharouf sustained severe blows, resulting in injuries to his face and body, and was subsequently transported by ambulance to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.

Israeli police also attacked camera operator Faiz Abu Ramila, who was with Alkharouf. CPJ was unable to immediately confirm details surrounding the attack. CPJ’s WhatsApp messages to Faiz did not immediately receive a response.

The Israeli soldiers obstructed the work of nearby press crews, preventing them from reaching Alkharouf to check on his condition after he was evacuated from the scene for medical treatment, according to Wafa.

“The physical attack on Mustafa Alkharouf is not a singular incident. It belongs to a pattern of physical attacks, assaults, and threats by Israeli soldiers and settlers on journalists reporting from the West Bank and Israel that have dramatically increased since October 7,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna, from New York. “CPJ calls on Israeli authorities to immediately cease attacking journalists, hold accountable those involved in these attacks, and provide much-needed protection to journalists reporting in Israel and the West Bank.”

Since the start of the October 7 war, Israeli soldiers and settlers have assaulted and threatened Palestinian and international journalists reporting in Israel and the West Bank. These incidents included attacks on journalists from BBC Arabic, Sky News Arabia, the German public broadcaster ARD, Al-Jazeera English, The New Arab, and RT Arabic.

CPJ’s email to the Israeli Police did not immediately receive a response. Israeli police have launched an investigation into Alkharouf’s beating and suspended the officers involved, according to its post on X, Anadolu, and other news reports. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Alkharouf, a photojournalist with Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, was covering Friday prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on December 15 when a group of Israeli Border Police officers attacked him, according to Anadolu Agency, footage shared by The Union of Journalists in Israel, and news reports.

The officers initially brandished their weapons at Alkharouf, punched him, and then threw him to the ground, kicking him. Alkharouf sustained severe blows, resulting in injuries to his face and body, and was subsequently transported by ambulance to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.

Israeli police also attacked camera operator Faiz Abu Ramila, who was with Alkharouf. CPJ was unable to immediately confirm details surrounding the attack. CPJ’s WhatsApp messages to Faiz did not immediately receive a response.

The Israeli soldiers obstructed the work of nearby press crews, preventing them from reaching Alkharouf to check on his condition after he was evacuated from the scene for medical treatment, according to Wafa.

“The physical attack on Mustafa Alkharouf is not a singular incident. It belongs to a pattern of physical attacks, assaults, and threats by Israeli soldiers and settlers on journalists reporting from the West Bank and Israel that have dramatically increased since October 7,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna, from New York. “CPJ calls on Israeli authorities to immediately cease attacking journalists, hold accountable those involved in these attacks, and provide much-needed protection to journalists reporting in Israel and the West Bank.”

Since the start of the October 7 war, Israeli soldiers and settlers have assaulted and threatened Palestinian and international journalists reporting in Israel and the West Bank. These incidents included attacks on journalists from BBC Arabic, Sky News Arabia, the German public broadcaster ARD, Al-Jazeera English, The New Arab, and RT Arabic.

CPJ’s email to the Israeli Police did not immediately receive a response. Israeli police have launched an investigation into Alkharouf’s beating and suspended the officers involved, according to its post on X, Anadolu, and other news reports. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.