23/04/2026 Culture, Science, Education and Media
The Committee on Culture, Science, Education, and Media, meeting today in Strasbourg, strongly condemned “the deliberate targeting and killing of local journalists in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces,” and Israel’s prohibition on international journalists and media outlets accessing the Gaza Strip. It also deplores the destruction of telecommunications and media infrastructure caused by Israeli airstrikes.
Similarly, it condemned “the violations of press freedom and the harassment of journalists by Hamas,” and the absence in Gaza of a legal and practical framework guaranteeing freedom of expression and information.
Noting that, since 7 October 2023, more than 220 journalists had been killed by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza, the committee urged Israel to halt the targeting of journalists and their families and to fully adhere to all relevant international human rights and humanitarian obligations in this respect. “Journalists working in areas of armed conflict are civilians and are protected as such under international humanitarian law,” the parliamentarians underlined.
Unanimously adopting a report by Constantinos Efstathiou (Cyprus, SOC), the committee urged Israel to “carry out full and independent investigations into all killings of journalists in Gaza,” make public the conclusions, and take necessary steps to punish those responsible. According to the adopted text, Israel must immediately “allow access to the Gaza Strip to local and foreign journalists, as well as international organisations responsible for providing information or carrying out investigations.
Finally, the committee called on the International Criminal Court to investigate the alleged war crimes committed by the Israeli army against journalists in Gaza, and the crimes committed by Hamas against Israeli journalists during the attacks of 7 October 2023.