ISLAMABAD: More than a hundred media and press freedom organisations have written an open letter demanding immediate and unrestricted access to Gaza as well as protection for journalists who continue to report from the besieged territory amid indiscriminate violence by the Israeli military.

The international appeal by Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists is signed by over a hundred emblematic media outlets, including Dawn, from around the world.

“We, the undersigned, call for immediate, independent, and unrestricted international media access to Gaza and for full protection of journalists who continue to report under siege,” the letter said, adding that for 20 months, the Israeli authorities refused to grant journalists outside of Gaza independent access to the Palestinian territory.

The local journalists working in Gaza have faced displacement and starvation and almost 200 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army. Only a day earlier, Al Jazeera reported that at least three of those killed in an Israeli drone strike at the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City were journalists.

The letter said many more have been injured and face constant life threats for doing their jobs. “We understand the inherent risks in reporting from war zones. These are risks that many of our organisations have taken over decades to investigate, document developments as they occur.”

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2025