The attacks and restrictions against the Palestinian journalists are part of a broader pattern of obstruction and hostility toward the press in Israel. For more than 20 months, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip and, as of June 17, have killed 185 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, including at least 17 who were targeted for their work.

CPJ has documented at least eight separate incidents on June 14 and 15 involving the harassment, obstruction, equipment confiscation, incitement, and, in some cases, forced removal by Israeli police, of at least 14 journalists. Most of the journalists work for Arabic-language outlets and were reporting from sites impacted by Iranian or Israeli strikes. Despite their press credentials and lawful access, journalists were repeatedly blocked from entering sites, assaulted by civilians, and in several cases expelled from reporting sites by police or border guard forces.

“We are deeply concerned by the troubling pattern of targeting Palestinian journalists working inside Israel. On June 14 and June 15, at least 14 journalists were obstructed, incited against, or physically assaulted for simply doing their jobs,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israeli authorities must immediately investigate these violations, hold perpetrators accountable, and stop treating Palestinian journalists covering the war as threats.”

Physical attacks:

On June 14, police in Rishon LeZion prevented Sameer Abdel Hadi, a correspondent for Turkish news agency Anadolu, and Arej Hakroush, a correspondent for privately owned, London-based online news channel Al-Ghad TV, from returning to reporting sites they had legally entered and confiscated their equipment. Before police forcibly expelled them from the street where they were broadcasting, unidentified individuals called Hakroush and her camera operator, Alaa Al-Heeh, racial slurs and physically attacked them while police refused to intervene, according to Abdel Hadi and Hakroush, who spoke with CPJ. The individuals beat the journalists with their equipment and pulled Hakroush by the hair.

On June 15, in Bat Yam, Al-Ghad TV correspondent Razi Tattour and camera operator Eyad Abu Shalbak were pushed and harassed by border police officers after speaking Arabic at the site of a rocket strike. The officers forcibly cut their live transmission, confiscated their camera, and accused them of being “terrorists,” Tattour told CPJ. The camera was later returned, and Tattour filed a police complaint.

Separately that day in Bat Yam, journalists Marwan Othmanah and Mohamed Al-Sharif of Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya were targeted by a group of unidentified individuals, who shouted, “Get out Arabs!” and threw objects at them, injuring Othmanah in the thigh. Police did not make any arrests or protect the journalists, Othmanah told CPJ.

Incitement and threats on social media:

On June 15, in Haifa, several journalists — including Abdel Hadi of Turkish-based Anadolu; freelancers Ward Qarara and Kareen Al-Bash; reporters Saeed Khair El-Din, Israa Al-Zeer, and Abd Khader of Al-Arabiya; and Ahmed Jaradat, a reporter for independent regional broadcaster Al-Araby TV — were filming a segment on the aftermath of rocket strikes when unidentified individuals began filming them and circulating their images in posts in Israeli social media groups, accusing all them of working for “the enemy,” according to Qarara and CPJ’s review of those posts. Police were present at the scene but did not intervene or offer protection to the journalists, he told CPJ.

Censorship:

On June 14, the Israeli military censor instructed local and international media not to publish details about rocket strikes or internal security. A Fox News reporter, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, said they were banned from entering a reporting site after they were accused of violating the instructions.

Additionally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced that he had asked Israel’s General Security Services, also known as Shin Bet, to investigate foreign media broadcasters over claims they were “giving information to the enemy.”

CPJ emailed the Israeli Defense Forces’ North America Media Deskto ask about these actions against journalists but did not immediately receive a response.

Editor’s note: The fifth paragraph was updated to include the equipment confiscation.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program.

The attacks and restrictions against the Palestinian journalists are part of a broader pattern of obstruction and hostility toward the press in Israel. For more than 20 months, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip and, as of June 17, have killed 185 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, including at least 17 who were targeted for their work.

CPJ has documented at least eight separate incidents on June 14 and 15 involving the harassment, obstruction, equipment confiscation, incitement, and, in some cases, forced removal by Israeli police, of at least 14 journalists. Most of the journalists work for Arabic-language outlets and were reporting from sites impacted by Iranian or Israeli strikes. Despite their press credentials and lawful access, journalists were repeatedly blocked from entering sites, assaulted by civilians, and in several cases expelled from reporting sites by police or border guard forces.

“We are deeply concerned by the troubling pattern of targeting Palestinian journalists working inside Israel. On June 14 and June 15, at least 14 journalists were obstructed, incited against, or physically assaulted for simply doing their jobs,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israeli authorities must immediately investigate these violations, hold perpetrators accountable, and stop treating Palestinian journalists covering the war as threats.”

Physical attacks:

On June 14, police in Rishon LeZion prevented Sameer Abdel Hadi, a correspondent for Turkish news agency Anadolu, and Arej Hakroush, a correspondent for privately owned, London-based online news channel Al-Ghad TV, from returning to reporting sites they had legally entered and confiscated their equipment. Before police forcibly expelled them from the street where they were broadcasting, unidentified individuals called Hakroush and her camera operator, Alaa Al-Heeh, racial slurs and physically attacked them while police refused to intervene, according to Abdel Hadi and Hakroush, who spoke with CPJ. The individuals beat the journalists with their equipment and pulled Hakroush by the hair.

On June 15, in Bat Yam, Al-Ghad TV correspondent Razi Tattour and camera operator Eyad Abu Shalbak were pushed and harassed by border police officers after speaking Arabic at the site of a rocket strike. The officers forcibly cut their live transmission, confiscated their camera, and accused them of being “terrorists,” Tattour told CPJ. The camera was later returned, and Tattour filed a police complaint.

Separately that day in Bat Yam, journalists Marwan Othmanah and Mohamed Al-Sharif of Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya were targeted by a group of unidentified individuals, who shouted, “Get out Arabs!” and threw objects at them, injuring Othmanah in the thigh. Police did not make any arrests or protect the journalists, Othmanah told CPJ.

Incitement and threats on social media:

On June 15, in Haifa, several journalists — including Abdel Hadi of Turkish-based Anadolu; freelancers Ward Qarara and Kareen Al-Bash; reporters Saeed Khair El-Din, Israa Al-Zeer, and Abd Khader of Al-Arabiya; and Ahmed Jaradat, a reporter for independent regional broadcaster Al-Araby TV — were filming a segment on the aftermath of rocket strikes when unidentified individuals began filming them and circulating their images in posts in Israeli social media groups, accusing all them of working for “the enemy,” according to Qarara and CPJ’s review of those posts. Police were present at the scene but did not intervene or offer protection to the journalists, he told CPJ.

Censorship:

On June 14, the Israeli military censor instructed local and international media not to publish details about rocket strikes or internal security. A Fox News reporter, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, said they were banned from entering a reporting site after they were accused of violating the instructions.

Additionally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced that he had asked Israel’s General Security Services, also known as Shin Bet, to investigate foreign media broadcasters over claims they were “giving information to the enemy.”

CPJ emailed the Israeli Defense Forces’ North America Media Deskto ask about these actions against journalists but did not immediately receive a response.

Editor’s note: The fifth paragraph was updated to include the equipment confiscation.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program.

The airstrike on the tent housing journalists in the grounds of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis killed Hilmi al-Faqaawi, a social media manager for pro-Palestinian Islamic Jihad broadcaster Palestine Today TV, and injured the following journalists:

• Ahmed Mansour, Palestine Today news agency editor
• Ahmed Al-Agha, BBC Arabic contributor
• Mohammed Fayeq, freelance photojournalist and drone operator
• Abdullah Al-Attar, freelance photographer for Anadolu Agency
• Ihab Al-Bardini, camera operator contributing to U.S. channel ABC
• Mahmoud Awad, Al Jazeera camera operator
• Majed Qudaih, Radio Algerie correspondent
• Ali Eslayeh, photographer for West Bank-based site Alam24

The Israel Defense Forces said the strike targeted Hassan Eslayeh, a freelance photographer who was with Hamas on October 7, 2023. The IDF said Eslayeh, who was injured on April 7, 2025, was a “terrorist” who “participated in the bloody massacre.”

In 2023, the pro-Israeli watchdog HonestReporting published a photo of Eslayeh being kissed by then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, after which CNN, the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies cut ties with the journalist.

“This is not the first time Israel has targeted a tent sheltering journalists in Gaza. The international community’s failure to act has allowed these attacks on the press to continue with impunity, undermining efforts to hold perpetrators accountable,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa  Director Sara Qudah. “CPJ calls on authorities to allow the injured, some of whom have sustained severe burns, to be evacuated immediately for treatment and to stop attacking Gaza’s already devastated press corps.”

Footage verified by Reuters news agency showed people trying to douse flames in the tent while other images of someone trying to rescue a journalist in flames were widely shared online.

CPJ’s email to the IDF’s North America Media Desk to request comment did not receive an immediate response.

More than 170 journalists and media workers have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war.

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

Protests erupted and grew in multiple cities across Turkey following the government crackdown on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was due to be selected as an opposition party presidential nominee on March 23, alongside other politicians and municipal staff last week. Multiple journalists have been placed in police custody, while several have been hurt by the police in the field since March 21.

“Neither the police violence targeting journalists who are covering the street protests, nor the raiding of their homes, is acceptable under any conditions,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Turkish authorities should immediately release the journalists in custody and allow the press to operate freely and safely.”

Police in Istanbul took at least five photojournalists into custody while raiding their homes on Monday morning: Yasin Akgül of Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Ali Onur Tosun of NOW Haber, along with freelancers Bülent Kılıç, Zeynep Kuray, and Hayri Tunç. Another freelance photojournalist, Murat Kocabaş, was also detained by the police in Izmir on Monday.

Zişan Gür, a reporter for the leftist news website Sendika, was taken into custody by the police while in the field in Istanbul on Sunday evening.

Turkish police have also beaten or used rubber bullets on multiple field reporters since Friday, according to local press freedom advocacy groups, including: Akgül, Egemen İsar of the Nefes newspaper, Hakan Akgün of the state-owned Anadolu Agency, Dilara Şenkaya of Reuters, Ali Dinç of Bianet, Eylül Deniz Yaşar of İlke TV, Yusuf Çelik of Özgür Gelecek, and freelancers Kemal Aslan and Rojda Altıntaş. The journalists also had their equipment damaged by the police, according to those groups.

Meanwhile, Ebubekir Şahin, the government-appointed chair of the media regulator RTÜK, has threatened Turkish TV channels broadcasting the protests and opposition rallies with license cancellations. İlhan Taşçı, an opposition-appointed member of the RTÜK, argued that the regulator has no authority to suppress broadcasts before they air and can only review what has already run.

CPJ emailed RTÜK and the Turkey’s Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, for comment but didn’t receive any replies.

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

By Faruk Hanedar in Istanbul

“Women, children, and families have no food. They are trying to drink water from puddles. People are eating grass.”

— Kia Ora Gaza advocate Roger Fowler

New Zealand activist Roger Fowler has condemned the Israeli regime’s actions in the Gaza Strip, saying “this is definitely genocide”.

“The Israeli regime has not hidden its intention to destroy or displace the Palestinian people, especially those in Gaza, from the beginning,” he said.

“They are committing a terrible act — killing tens of thousands of people, injuring more, and destroying a large part of this beautiful country.”

• READ MORE: John Minto: Why is mainstream media in NZ so blatantly ignoring Gaza?
• US vetoes another UN Security Council resolution urging Gaza war ceasefire
• Al Jazeera’s live newsfeed on Gaza
• Other images and videos from today’s Auckland protest
• Other John Minto commentaries

The death toll from the Israeli War on Gaza topped 29,000 this week – mostly women and children – and there were reports of deaths from starvation.

Fowler demanded action to halt the attacks and expressed hope about the potential effect of the international Freedom Flotilla — a grassroots organisation working to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

He noted large-scale protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza and emphasised efforts to pressure governments, including through weekly protests in New Zealand to unequivocally condemn Israel’s actions as unacceptable.

Long-standing mistreatment
He stressed that the “tragedy” had extended beyond recent months, highlighting the long-standing mistreatment endured by Palestinians — particularly those in Gaza — for the last 75 years.

Fowler pointed out the dire situation that Gazans faced — confined to a small territory with restricted access to essential resources including food, medicine, construction materials and necessities.

He noted his three previous trips to Gaza with land convoys, where he demonstrated solidarity and observed the dire circumstances faced by the population.

“Boycott is a very effective action,” said Fowler, underlining the significance of boycotts, isolation and sanctions, while stressing the necessity of enhancing and globalising initiatives to end the blockade.

“I believe that boycotting has a great impact on pressuring not only major companies to withdraw from Israel and end their support, but also on making the Israeli government and our own governments understand that they need to stop what they are doing.”

Fowler also criticised the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) “genocide decision” for being ineffective due to the arrogance of those governing Israel.

South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel to the ICJ in December and asked for emergency measures to end Palestinian bloodshed in Gaza, where nearly 30,000 people have been killed since October 7.

World Court fell short
The World Court ordered Israel last month to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but fell short of ordering a ceasefire.

It also ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective” measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.

Fowler said all nations must persistently advocate and exert pressure for adherence to decisions by the UN court.

Fowler acknowledged efforts by UN personnel but he has concerns about their limited resources in Gaza, citing the only avenue for change is for people to pressure authorities to stop the genocide and ensure Israel is held accountable.

“It’s definitely tragic and heartbreaking. Women, children, and families have no food. They are trying to drink water from puddles. People are eating grass. This is a very desperate situation. No one is talking about the children. Thousands of people are under the rubble, including small babies and children,” he said.

Roger Fowler is a Mangere East community advocate, political activist for social justice in many issues, and an organiser of Kia Ora Gaza. This article was first published by Anadolu Agency and is republished with permission.

kiaoragaza.net

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

On Wednesday evening, Russian forces shelled Park Hotel in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, injuring Violetta-Anastasia Pedorich, a Ukrainian freelance producer working with the French public broadcaster France Télévisions, and Davit Kachkachishvili, a reporter with the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, Pedorich and Etienne Leenhardt, France Télévisions’ head of investigations and special reports, told CPJ.

At least 13 people were injured in the strike but others escaped unharmed—including Anadolu Agency photojournalist Özge Elif Kızıl, France Télévisions reporter Anaïs Hanquet, and camera operator Valérie Lucas, while Anadolu Agency’s car was destroyed, those sources said.  

Pedorich told CPJ that her face and hands were hit by pieces of glass, while Kachkachishşvili had minor cuts on his hands, according to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and the local press freedom group Institute of Mass Information (IMI). Neither was seriously injured. 

“CPJ is very concerned about Russia’s latest missile attack in Ukraine that targeted a hotel housing journalists. Media are instrumental in informing the world about the war, and journalists are civilians under international humanitarian law and should never be considered combatants,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Russian and Ukrainian authorities should investigate the attack that injured journalists Violetta-Anastasia Pedorich and Davit Kachkachishvili, and Russia must stop targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including facilities that house journalists.”

On Friday, Pedorich told CPJ that she had returned to the capital, Kyiv, and still had “a bit of tremors” when she moved, some nausea, and headaches, but she was feeling ok “overall” and would undergo a medical check-up on Saturday.

Pedorich told CPJ that on the morning of the attack, her team was reporting on the frontline with artillery soldiers in the direction of the eastern city of Avdiivka, which she finds now “very ironic.”

“The attack happened five minutes after (the France Télévisions team) arrived, and luckily enough, because Valérie (Lucas) and Anaïs (Hanquet) were still in the corridor, looking for their rooms, and I just had the time to enter the room,” said Pedorich, who has been covering the war for almost two years for multiple foreign media outlets. 

“We were really scared … we felt that the second bombardment had hit the hotel directly. We still can’t quite grasp what happened,” Hanquet told France 2.

The Russian Defense Ministry gave no official comment on the January 10 strike. 

“Soldiers have never stayed in this hotel,” IMI quoted Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov as saying. “This hotel was used by journalists. It was a well-known fact … This leads me to believe that the Russian Federation was targeting the mass media specifically.”

Russia has previously attacked hotels and restaurants in Ukraine known to be frequented by journalists. On December 30, a Russian missile hit another hotel in Kharkiv that was housing dozens of journalists, injuring three.

“On a Telegram channel, a Russian army officer claims that this facility was housing mercenaries. The members of our team are well and truly journalists,” France 2 said in its report about the strike.

CPJ’s emails to the Russian and Ukrainian Defense Ministries did not receive any replies.

At least 15 journalists have been killed while working in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, while many others have been injured, detained, or threatened.

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.

The post was made on an anonymous account with the handle @Walnutftz; CPJ could not contact the user as the account’s direct message function was closed. 

Gilani, a Turkey-based correspondent for the Chicago-based broadcaster American Muslim Media Network and former editor for the Turkish news agency Anadolu, said he feared for his life after the post, which called him a “collaborator” with Indian authorities.

Gilani said political killings in Kashmir are generally preceded by similar attacks on a victim’s credibility.

Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead in June 2018, 11 days after being similarly accused of “betraying the Kashmiri struggle” in the anonymous blog Kashmir Fight. After Bukhari’s killing, the blog accused Gilani of “furthering India’s interests.”

Gilani told CPJ that he received similar threatening messages from unknown accounts on Twitter in 2019 and 2022, which included posts that were widely circulated and later deleted. CPJ was unable to review those posts.

In October 2020, the Kashmir Fight blog issued similar threats against 39 Kashmiri journalists, labeling them “Indian agents,” before deleting the post.

CPJ’s email to Indian Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla did not immediately receive a reply.

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