Gaza, 26 September 2025 — On this International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists, Al Mezan honors their courage, resilience, and sacrifice as they continue to bear witness to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, now about to enter its third year with no end in sight. As part of our documentation effort, earlier this year Al Mezan published Kill the Witness, Hide the Crimes, a report that details Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists and media workers between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2025.

Since the start of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israel has deliberately made Palestinian journalists and media workers direct targets, even when they were clearly identifiable with 'PRESS' markings, visible IDs, or marked vehicles. According to Al Mezan’s documentation, between 7 October 2023 and 26 September 2025, Israeli forces killed 303 Palestinian journalists and media workers and injured another 433. Dozens of media institutions, from television stations and radio networks to news agencies, training centers, and press vehicles, have been heavily damaged or destroyed, their offices, branches, equipment, and supplies reduced to rubble. In addition, 48 Palestinian journalists and media workers were arrested, arbitrarily detained, and subjected to torture and other inhumane treatment by Israeli authorities. The pattern of evidence documented by Al Mezan makes clear that these attacks are not accidental, but part of a calculated campaign to silence Palestinian voices and obstruct the reporting of atrocities to obscure the reality of life under genocide.

Israel's deliberate campaign to silence Palestinian voices goes beyond physical violence and extends into the digital sphere, where their freedom of expression is curtailed by systematic restrictions by social media platforms.  As reported by 7amleh, major tech companies, including Meta, have disproportionately censored Palestinian content under pressure from Israeli authorities, contributing to a broader campaign of digital repression by removing, restricting and hiding posts that document the genocide in Gaza. By folding under Israeli pressure to censor Palestinian users, tech companies actively collaborate in the repression of Palestinian expression.

Israel's campaign to silence Palestinian voices globally has also led to sanctions against Al Mezan, Al Haq, and PCHR by the United States for our efforts to prosecute perpetrators of crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) before the International Criminal Court (ICC). This sanctions regime is designed to conceal the truth, obstruct its disclosure, undermine accountability, and entrench impunity for genocide.

On this day, Al Mezan reaffirms its solidarity with Palestinian journalists and media workers and recognises their vital role in documenting human rights violations and exposing abuses. Their dedication to continuing their work despite being threatened, intimidated, and killed is beyond commendable. We also firmly condemn Israel’s systematic crimes against them, and stresses that these crimes provide clear evidence of a campaign by Israel to conceal international crimes being committed. Al Mezan further deplores the continued failure of the international community to stop this genocide from continuing. Continued inaction only makes the international community complicit in Israel's genocide as their lack of action serves to shield perpetrators and grants them impunity.

Al Mezan calls on the international community to take urgent action to end the genocide and ensure the protection of Palestinians. Al Mezan urges international media organizations, press unions, journalists, and defenders of press freedom worldwide to highlight the violations and crimes perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinian journalists and media workers. Crucially, international institutions must hold Israel accountable for crimes committed against Palestinian journalists who have been killed and tortured. This requires urgent endorsement of  an independent investigation into international crimes committed against journalists so that those responsible can be brought before competent international courts.