House Dems Push Biden to Fight for Global Media Access to Gaza

Over five dozen Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday urged the Biden administration to "take immediate action to advocate for unrestricted, independent media access" to the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces have killed at least 42,603 people and injured another 99,795 since last October.

"It is imperative that the United States urge Israel to allow independent access for U.S. and international journalists, in the interest of transparency, accountability, and the fundamental principle of press freedom," the lawmakers—led by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)—wrote to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Since the right-wing Israeli government launched its retaliation for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, the Biden administration and Congress have continued to provide Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, despite allegations of war crimes and genocide, including in an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice.

The lawmakers' letter says that "foreign media remains largely prohibited from entering the region, except for a few controlled trips arranged by the Israeli military. This effective ban on foreign reporting has placed an overwhelming burden on local journalists who are documenting the war they are living through. Tragically, at least 130 journalists have lost their lives since the start of the war, and those who remain face conditions of extreme hardship and danger."

Noting that the mortality rate for Gaza's media workers is over 10%, 75% of all reporters killed globally last year died after October 7, and just two months into the conflict the Committee to Protect Journalists called Gaza the "most dangerous ever" war zone for the press, McGovern and his colleagues wrote that "these staggering statistics underscore the critical importance of allowing independent journalists to document and report from the ground."

Israel has been accused of targeting journalists in Gaza and the illegally occupied West Bank, along with Lebanon, where it has ramped up attacks against the political and paramilitary group Hezbollah, which has fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Hamas-governed strip.

"At a time when reliable information is more critical than ever, the restrictions on foreign reporting undermine the very foundation of press freedom and democratic accountability," the House Democrats argued. "A free press is essential to ensuring that the world can bear witness to the realities on the ground and hold all parties accountable."

The letter is signed by 65 House members, including the group that has been demanding a cease-fire since last October as well as Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Reps. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).

Throughout the Israeli assault on Gaza, human rights and press freedom groups have blasted both the ban on foreign reporting and Israel's killing of the enclave's local journalists. Corporate outlets—particularly in the United States—have also faced criticism over their war coverage, with some charging that Western media are "enabling" genocide.