Over 20 Foreign Journalists Detained as Israel Intercepts Gaza Aid Flotilla
PARIS — More than 20 international journalists were detained this week after the Israeli navy intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian convoy headed for Gaza, where the United Nations says famine conditions are worsening.
The journalists, representing outlets such as Spain’s El País, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, and Italy’s RAI, were arrested between Wednesday and Thursday while covering the flotilla, which also carried activists and politicians, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
An Israeli official confirmed that vessels carrying over 400 people were blocked from reaching Gaza. Israel stated that none of the boats breached its maritime blockade and that the detained journalists would be deported to Europe.
“Arresting journalists and preventing them from doing their work is a serious violation of the right to inform and be informed,” said Martin Roux, head of the crisis desk at Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). He added that RSF condemns the “illegal arrest” of news professionals covering what was described as a humanitarian mission of unprecedented scale.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, press access to Palestinian territories has been heavily restricted. Only a few select media outlets have been allowed entry, and their reporting is closely monitored by the Israeli military.
RSF also highlighted the risks journalists face in the region. According to the organization, more than 210 journalists have been killed since Israel launched military operations in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, which claimed 1,219 lives based on official Israeli figures.
The subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 66,000 Palestinian deaths, predominantly civilians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry — figures the United Nations considers credible.
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