Canada calls for Israel to grant access to Gaza for journalists and protect press freedom.
Canada is once again pressing Israel to allow foreign journalists to report from the Gaza Strip. Additionally, there is a growing concern for the safety of Palestinian journalists who have faced a significant increase in fatal incidents in the region.
Last week, Ottawa, along with several European nations, Australia, Chile, and Qatar, issued a joint statement urging Israel to permit Palestinian journalists who wish to exit Gaza to be able to do so.
Israel currently restricts the entry of foreign journalists into Gaza unless they are embedded with the Israeli military, a practice that the Committee to Protect Journalists deems as unprecedented in modern times.
The Committee to Protect Journalists highlights a disturbing trend of escalating violence against journalists in this conflict, stating that Israel’s actions constitute the most lethal and purposeful targeting of journalists they have witnessed.
While Israel claims that the journalists killed were aiding Hamas, Canada and other nations dispute this assertion, particularly in the case of Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif.
Today, a group known as Canadian Journalists for Justice in Palestine is rallying on Parliament Hill, pushing for independent investigations into these journalist deaths and advocating for Canadian asylum for Gaza journalists seeking refuge.