On Monday, September 1, 2025, a wave of solidarity swept across the global media landscape as more than 250 news organizations from over 70 countries launched an unprecedented campaign condemning the ongoing killings of journalists in Gaza. The coordinated protest, spearheaded by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the advocacy group Avaaz, saw newspapers black out their front pages, websites display somber banners, and broadcasters air urgent statements—all united in their demand for protection of Palestinian journalists and accountability for what they described as systematic targeting by the Israeli military.
The campaign comes amid what RSF has called "the deadliest war for the press in modern history." According to the Government Media Office in Gaza and corroborated by the United Nations Human Rights Office, the death toll among journalists since October 7, 2023, has reached a staggering 247. The most recent victim, journalist Islam Abed, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City just days before the campaign began. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has published a full list of the slain, honoring their sacrifices in the face of relentless danger, hunger, and exhaustion.
Participating outlets include some of the most recognizable names in global journalism: L’Humanité (France), Die Tageszeitung (Germany), La Libre (Belgium), Público (Portugal), The Independent (UK), L’Orient-Le Jour (Lebanon), Al Jazeera (Qatar), and The Intercept (USA). Many ran their Monday editions with stark black front pages bearing the chilling message: "At the rate at which the Israeli army is killing journalists in Gaza, soon no one will remain to report on what is happening." This sentiment was echoed by RSF director general Thibaut Bruttin, who warned, "At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed."
The campaign’s demands are clear and urgent. First, it calls for immediate protection for Palestinian journalists and an end to what it describes as the impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces for crimes against the press. Second, it insists on independent access for foreign media to Gaza, a territory that has been largely closed off to outside reporters since the escalation of hostilities. Third, it seeks emergency evacuation for journalists wishing to leave the besieged enclave and international support for those seeking refuge abroad.
Symbolic actions have been at the heart of the protest. Alongside blacked-out front pages, digital platforms displayed banners, radio stations broadcast audio messages, and television networks aired powerful visual statements. Editorials in The Guardian and The Independent underscored the gravity of the situation, with The Guardian declaring, "Israel wants to stop the world from seeing what it’s doing," and The Independent warning that Gaza has become unsafe for everyone, not only journalists. The Palestine Chronicle and numerous Arab and international outlets also joined the campaign, amplifying its message across continents.
The toll on the media community has been devastating. In the past month alone, 14 journalists lost their lives in two separate Israeli airstrikes. On August 10, 2025, a strike on a media tent outside Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital killed correspondents Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqa, and four others. Just days later, on August 25, five journalists—including Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama and Reuters photojournalist Hussam al-Masri—were killed in what the Gaza Ministry of Health described as a "double-tap strike" at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza. The attack reportedly involved two missiles, the second hitting as rescue crews arrived to help the wounded.
These deaths are not isolated incidents. RSF and the CPJ have documented at least 220 journalists killed by Israeli forces in Gaza over the past 23 months. The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists has identified 21 cases where media workers were targeted specifically because of their profession, describing these killings as "murder." Press Gazette, a leading industry publication, cautioned that continued impunity would "not only plunge the region into darkness, they will send a message out to conflict zones around the world that journalists are fair game for the military."
Calls for international intervention have reached a fever pitch as the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly approaches. RSF and Avaaz have urged the global community to pressure the UN Security Council to take decisive action and halt what they call Israeli crimes against journalists. The campaign’s organizers noted that RSF has already filed four complaints at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel for war crimes committed against journalists in Gaza. In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide lawsuit before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The Federation of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has voiced its "profound concern" over the ongoing assassinations of Palestinian journalists, calling the events a "blatant infringement of international laws and standards." The OIC accused Israeli authorities of suppressing the truth, silencing dissent, and obstructing the dissemination of information to the global public.
Since October 2023, the Gaza conflict has claimed at least 63,557 Palestinian lives—most of them women and children—according to figures from both Gaza’s Government Media Office and the United Nations. Over 160,000 have been injured, more than 9,000 remain missing, and famine has claimed the lives of at least 348 people, including 127 children. The devastation has left Gaza’s infrastructure in ruins and its population in a state of mass displacement and desperation.
Foreign journalists continue to be denied entry to Gaza, leaving Palestinian reporters as the only direct sources of information from within the conflict zone. Their work, often carried out under the threat of violence and amid dire humanitarian conditions, has become the last lifeline for the outside world to understand the reality on the ground. As Sky News managing director Jonathan Levy wrote in June, "The ongoing denial of access to Gaza feels much less about the safety of journalists and more about preventing proper scrutiny and accountability of the desperate situation there." He added, "There is a war on truth, and this is at odds with Israel's proud and oft-repeated claim to be the Middle East's only democracy and it should not be allowed to stand."
With the world’s attention now focused on the fate of journalists in Gaza, the campaign led by RSF, Avaaz, and hundreds of media outlets stands as a powerful testament to the enduring value of press freedom—even, and especially, in times of war. The message is clear: without the protection of those who risk their lives to report the truth, the darkness of conflict will only deepen.
