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RIYADH: The Media Freedom Coalition, which promotes press freedoms worldwide, called Thursday for Israel to allow independent, foreign news organizations access to the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza.

“Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war,” said a joint statement signed by members of the coalition from 27 countries, including Britain, France and Germany.

The statement also condemned the violence directed against journalists and media workers, and called on Israeli authorities and all other parties “to make every effort to ensure that media workers in the conflict area can conduct their work freely and safely.” 

“Deliberate targeting of journalists is unacceptable. International humanitarian law offers protection to civilian journalists during armed conflict,” the statement said, adding that every attack against media workers must be investigated and those responsible prosecuted.

The other signatories were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the Netherlands, and Canada.

Aside from rare guided tours, Israel has barred international media during the war, in which at least 242 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed.

A post on the United Nation's website on August 12, 2025, cited a UNESCO report saying that since October 2023, at least 62 journalists and media workers had been killed in the line of duty in Palestine, excluding deaths in circumstances unrelated to their work. It also cited a report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, saying that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the same time frame. 

Since the Israeli invasion of Gaza in October 2023, at least 62,192 Palestinians have been killed according to a Gaza Health Ministry report on Thursday. Another two people have died from malnutrition-related causes, bringing the total number of such deaths to 271, including 112 children, the ministry said.

Hamas-led militants started the war when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Hamas says it will only free the rest in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

(With AP)

WASHINGTON: The State Department has fired a press officer who was responsible for drafting Trump administration talking points about policy toward Israel and Gaza after complaints from the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Officials said Shahed Ghoreishi, a contractor working for the Bureau of Near East Affairs, was terminated over the weekend following two incidents last week in which his loyalty to Trump administration policies was called into question.
Ghoreishi, who is Iranian American, also was targeted Wednesday following his dismissal by right-wing personality Laura Loomer, who accused him of not being fully supportive of the administration’s policies in the Middle East.
According to Ghoreishi and two current US officials, Ghoreishi drew the ire of a senior official at the US Embassy in Jerusalem and then top aides to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for drafting a response to a query from The Associated Press last week. The question related to discussions between Israel and South Sudan about the possible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan.
The draft response included a line that said the US does not support the forced relocation of Gazans, something that President Donald Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff have said repeatedly.
However, according to Ghoreishi and the officials, that line was rejected by the US Embassy in Jerusalem, leading to questions about policy back in Washington. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel changes.
Ghoreishi also said he questioned a statement from the embassy that referred to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria,” the Biblical name for the Palestinian territory that some right-wing Israeli officials prefer. Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, also has repeatedly backed referring to the West Bank by Judea and Samaria.
The ouster shows the lengths that the Trump administration has gone to ensure what it sees as loyalty to the president and his goals, including a foreign policy approach that has offered overwhelming support for Israel in the war against Hamas. The administration this week also revoked security clearances for 37 current and former national security officials, including many who had signed a 2019 letter critical of Trump that was recently highlighted by Loomer.
“Despite a close working relationship with many of my dedicated and hardworking colleagues, I was targeted following two events last week when I attracted the ire of the 7th floor and senior officials in Embassy Jerusalem: stating we are against forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as President Trump and special envoy Witkoff have both previously claimed and cutting a reference to Judea and Samaria,” Ghoreishi said, referring to the floor where top leaders have offices at the State Department.
“Both of these had been consistently approved at the senior level in the past, so it begs the question why I was suddenly targeted without a direct explanation and whether our Israel-Palestine policy is about to get even worse — including an unwillingness to take any stand against ethnic cleansing. The future looks bleak,” he said.
State Department spokespeople declined to comment on his firing, calling it an internal personnel matter.
Without addressing the specifics, deputy State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement that the agency “has zero tolerance for employees who commit misconduct by leaking or otherwise disclosing confidential deliberative emails or information. Federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the duly elected President’s agenda.”
The firing was first reported by The Washington Post.
Loomer claimed Wednesday that she had a hand in Ghoreishi’s removal from the State Department. She said he was affiliated with pro-Iran groups and jihadists, which Ghoreishi denies.
Just days ago, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review soon after Loomer had posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the US for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas.