On September 11, 2025, the world was shaken by the news of five journalists killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital. Cameraman Hussam al-Masri of Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga of AP, Mohammed Salama of Al Jazeera, freelance journalist Moaz Abu Taha, and Ahmed Abu Aziz lost their lives near a broadcasting post beneath the hospital roof in Khan Younis, all within eight minutes of another deadly attack. Their deaths added to a grim tally: according to reporting published by Mark Oloo, more than 200 journalists have been deliberately killed by Israel, a toll that critics argue is in clear violation of international humanitarian law.
These latest killings have reignited a long-standing debate about the dangers faced by journalists in conflict zones and the lengths to which some actors will go to silence the press. The question lingers: why target journalists who are simply doing their jobs? As Mark Oloo wrote, “The killings are a futile attempt at censorship.” He argues that in today’s hyper-connected world, where open-source investigative tools, satellite imagery, and social media are widely available, attempts to suppress the truth are ultimately doomed to fail. “Killing journalists will not impede the flow of information in today’s world,” Oloo asserts, highlighting the resilience and determination of reporters who persist in telling stories, even when endangered, exiled, or silenced.
One such example is Nagham Mohanna, a freelance reporter from Gaza who, after being forced to flee her home in December 2023, continues to report on the war from abroad. Relying on trusted networks, she verifies and shares information, determined to keep the world informed. “As long as I can share the voices of the people in Gaza, I will, whether I am with them or abroad,” Mohanna told Oloo. Her resolve echoes that of journalists in other repressive environments, such as Zimbabwe, where news outlets like Voice of America’s Studio 7 and SW Radio continued broadcasting from abroad when the local press was muzzled under Robert Mugabe’s regime.
But the danger is not confined to the Middle East. Oloo warns that violence and repression against journalists are becoming normalized in Africa as well, with at least ten countries consistently ranking among the worst on global press freedom indices compiled by Reporters Without Borders. He points to Sudan, where journalists have been killed and newsrooms looted during the ongoing war, and Burkina Faso, where a new state doctrine under Captain Ibrahim Traoré demands “patriotic treatment” of news. Editors are required to be “patriotic,” a vague mandate that can quickly land reporters in legal jeopardy for professional reporting. Oloo cautions that this mindset could spread, making it “normal” to silence the press and creating fertile ground for misinformation and abuse of power.
Against this backdrop of violence and censorship, another battle for press freedom is unfolding in the courtrooms of Europe. On September 14, 2025, The Intercept reported that Anas Zayed Fteiha, a Palestinian photojournalist working in Gaza, filed a legal claim in the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court against German publishing giant Axel Springer. Fteiha accuses the company’s flagship tabloid, BILD, of falsely portraying him as a Hamas propagandist in an August 5 article headlined “This Gaza photographer stages Hamas propaganda.” The article alleged that Fteiha staged photos of starving Palestinians at a Gaza food distribution site to push a Hamas narrative, a charge Fteiha vehemently denies.
“I want to prove the truth cannot be erased by false allegations,” Fteiha told The Intercept. He explained that the images in question were genuine moments of human suffering, not staged propaganda. Fteiha, who works as a freelancer for the Turkish news agency Anadolu, published a range of photographs from that day, including images of men, women, and children waiting for food—evidence, he says, that contradicts BILD’s claims. Later in August, a United Nations-backed body declared a famine in Gaza, further underscoring the reality Fteiha sought to document.
Fteiha’s legal claim, drafted by German press lawyer Ingrid Yeboah and supported by the European Legal Support Center, alleges that BILD violated German press law by publishing defamatory and life-threatening statements without seeking his comment prior to publication. The claim argues that BILD’s reporting included “gravely defamatory and life-threatening statements” that constitute a violation of Fteiha’s “general right of personality” under German constitutional law, which protects individuals against defamation. The legal action is a first-of-its-kind strategy for a Palestinian journalist and seeks an injunction requiring Axel Springer to correct the statements and cover the costs of the legal proceedings.
BILD’s communications director declined to comment on editorial processes, and Axel Springer has not responded to inquiries about the lawsuit. The legal claim was filed shortly after a cease-and-desist order was rejected by Axel Springer on September 4, 2025. The filing also references another BILD article, published just days after Fteiha was singled out, that labeled Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif—a journalist killed by an Israeli strike hours before publication—as a “terrorist disguised as journalist.” The headline was later revised to “Killed journalist allegedly was a terrorist.” Fteiha’s filing cites this as evidence of a broader campaign to delegitimize Palestinian journalists.
The controversy has drawn attention from press freedom advocates. Christopher Resch, a spokesperson for Reporters Without Borders Germany, told The Intercept that German media appeared eager to amplify Israel’s campaign to delegitimize Palestinian journalists. “Newsrooms should always—especially when it comes to war reporting—apply the highest professional and ethical standards and never report carelessly,” Resch said. “If media reports can be used to legitimise criminal decisions by the Israeli military, one can assume they will be used.”
Fteiha’s legal action comes at a time when journalists in Gaza and beyond face unprecedented threats. Despite heavy Israeli bombing and an imminent ground invasion of Gaza City, Fteiha continues his work. “I believe my role as a journalist is to bear witness to what is happening and to convey the truth to the world—no matter the cost,” he told The Intercept. His words echo the determination of his colleagues who risk their lives to report from conflict zones, reminding the world of the essential role journalists play in holding power to account.
As violence against journalists becomes increasingly commonplace, Oloo’s warning rings true: “When injustices against journalists occur and recur, they become normalised, with the risk of spreading to even the most unexpected places.” The world may not be able to prevent every attack, but it must not accept the silencing of those who serve the public interest. The reckoning, Oloo writes, will come for those who kill media workers for telling the truth.