SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
council on american-islamic relations
Ceasefire Sparks Fresh Calls for Global Media Access to Gaza
Press groups are also demanding justice for the more than 200 journalists slaughtered in Palestinian territory over the past two years.
Oct 13, 2025
Since a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip began on Friday, press freedom advocates and critics of Israel's genocidal assault have issued new calls for international media access to the decimated Palestinian territory, including the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the United States.
"We encourage American and international media outlets to demand direct, unsupervised access to Gaza in the wake of the ceasefire agreement," the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement on Monday, as Hamas returned 20 hostages taken on October 7, 2023 and Israel released over 1,900 imprisoned Palestinians, most of whom were taken captive by Israeli forces over the past two years.
CAIR urged reporters to demand access to "the 1,700 Palestinian men, women, and children going free after Israel occupation forces abducted them from Gaza, held them without charge, and reportedly subjected them to torture in prisons run by Itamar Ben-Gvir," the country's far-right minister of national security.
As Drop Site News' Ryan Grim noted on social media, some Palestinians are already speaking out about the torture they endured:
“Although many media outlets will understandably cover the release of Israeli hostages, it is important to also cover the stories of Palestinian civilians who were kidnapped and other Palestinian hostages who may not go free, such as Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya," said CAIR. "Ignoring Palestinian suffering would give the appearance of bias and create a warped, one-sided image for the public."
"It is particularly critical for American journalists to overcome the Israeli government's attempts to hide the aftermath of the US-funded devastation in Gaza," CAIR added. "Reporters must immediately receive access to Gaza so they can see and report on the consequences of the genocide for themselves."
Unsuccessfully pursuing a Nobel Peace Prize, US President Donald Trump announced last Wednesday night that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his proposed plan for Gaza. On Monday, Trump addressed Israeli lawmakers. He also signed a peace deal document, as did Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish leaders.
A report published last week by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the Costs of War Project at Brown University found that the Trump and Biden administrations provided at least $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel since October 2023. The two-year Israeli assault—widely decried as genocide—has killed at least 67,869 Palestinians and wounded 170,105, the Gaza Health Ministry said Monday. Thousands of people remain missing, and experts believe the true toll is far higher.
Among those dead are hundreds of Palestinian journalists, who have worked to not only survive Gaza but also share stories from there over the past two years, as Israel has largely prevented any international reporters from entering the territory.
The various tallies of journalists slaughtered in Gaza go up to at least 271, which includes Saleh al-Jafarawi, a Palestinian reporter and content creator killed on Sunday. According to The New Arab:
Reports in Arabic media state that the armed militia was affiliated with Israel, and members of the group had been killing displaced Palestinians who were making their way back to their homes in the aftermath of the truce.
When he was found, after being announced as missing early on Sunday, he was wearing a press jacket.
The reporter had amassed a large following on social media for his fearless dispatches from on the ground, despite himself being displaced, starved, and his home bombed.
As Middle East Eye reported Monday, the slain journalist "was buried the same day as his brother Naji al-Jafarawi was released from an Israeli prison as part of an exchange of captives."
After Saleh al-Jafarawi's death, multiple social media users shared a video of him welcoming the ceasefire that started on Friday.
Jonathan Dagher, head of the Middle East Desk at Reporters Without Borders, or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), said in a Friday statement that "the relief of a ceasefire in Gaza must not distract from the absolute urgency of the catastrophic situation facing journalists in the territory."
Over 200 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces, "and the reporters still alive in Gaza need immediate care, equipment, and support," he noted. "They also need justice—more than ever. If the impunity for the crimes committed against them continues, they will be repeated in Gaza, Palestine, and elsewhere in the world. To bring justice to Gaza's reporters and to protect the right to information around the world, we demand arrest warrants for the perpetrators of crimes against our fellow journalists in Gaza."
"RSF is counting on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to act on the complaints we filed for war crimes committed against these journalists," added Dagher, whose group has filed five complaints with the tribunal since October 2023. "It's high time that the international community's response matched the courage shown by Palestinian reporters over the past two years."
The board of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem also released a statement on Friday. It said that "the FPA welcomes the agreement between the warring parties on a ceasefire in Gaza. With the halt in fighting, we renew our urgent call for Israel to open the borders immediately and allow international media free and independent access to the Gaza Strip."
"For the last two years, the FPA and its members have asked, through all channels, to be let into Gaza to report on the reality of the war. These demands have been repeatedly ignored, while our Palestinian colleagues have risked their lives to provide tireless and brave reporting from Gaza," the group continued.
Israel's Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a related case next week, "but there is no reason to wait that long," the group added. "Enough with the excuses and delay tactics. The restrictions on press freedom must come to an end."
Keep ReadingShow Less
We Must Call It What It Is: A Genocide in Gaza
For too long, our elected officials have hidden behind euphemisms like “tragedy” or “conflict.” But history will not remember their silence kindly.
Oct 07, 2025
Over the past two years, Gaza has been turned into rubble and starvation by one of the most relentless bombing campaigns in modern history. This is not a conflict. It is not a “war between two sides.” It is genocide—the deliberate destruction of a people, carried out in full view of the world.
More than 66,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, most of them women and children. But that number only scratches the surface. Humanitarian agencies estimate that over 680,000 people may have died—buried under collapsed buildings, starved to death, or left to suffer without medicine or clean water as Israel continues to blockade aid. The death toll grows daily as people die unseen beneath the rubble.
I speak not only as an advocate for justice, but as someone personally scarred by this horror. Over 200 members of my own family have been killed in this genocide. Their lives ended in the same way as tens of thousands of others—bombed in their homes, trapped without food, or killed while trying to flee. These were teachers, children, and parents. They were human beings who deserved to live in peace.
Across the world, millions are refusing to look away. From Amsterdam to Istanbul, from New York to Johannesburg, protesters are filling the streets to call this what it is: genocide. Even many who once hesitated to use that word now recognize it as the only accurate description.
The question now is not whether this is genocide. The question is: what will we do about it?
This genocide has extended beyond Gaza’s borders. In the West Bank, Israeli incursions continue—raids, home demolitions, mass arrests, and settler violence, all designed to displace Palestinians from their homeland.
Meanwhile, Gaza is being starved. Thousands are dying for lack of food, water, and medicine. Hospitals have been reduced to ashes, and more than 560 aid workers and medical personnel have been killed. This is not an accident—it is strategy. Starvation and disease have become weapons of war.
It is clear: Israel’s campaign can only have been made possible by US weapons and funding. Every bomb dropped on Gaza carries the imprint “Made in America.” Every home destroyed is a reminder that the US continues to arm and defend a government committing crimes against humanity. This does not serve America’s interests. It only increases anger and resentment toward our country.
There can be no moral ambiguity left. The bombing must stop—permanently. Israel must end its incursions into the West Bank and allow full humanitarian access for rebuilding Gaza. Palestinians have the right to live freely and safely on their own land.
For too long, our elected officials have hidden behind euphemisms like “tragedy” or “conflict.” But history will not remember their silence kindly. It will remember who stood by as a people were starved and buried alive—and who had the courage to speak.
The United States cannot continue to claim moral leadership while enabling genocide. Every day that our government sends weapons to Israel, it deepens our complicity.
The question now is not whether this is genocide. The question is: what will we do about it?
For many, the response has been philanthropy; protesting; and participation in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement—all vital and powerful tools for change. But if we want lasting impact, we must also build political power.
That is why CAIR Action was created: to turn outrage into organization, and compassion into change. Through our educational campaigns, voter guides, endorsements, and candidate amplification, we are helping communities of conscience identify and elect leaders who will stand up against genocide and vote for peace and justice.
We are organizing to shape the next generation of politicians—leaders who will not shrink from truth, who will end U. complicity, and who will fight for human rights everywhere.
Our humanity—and our democracy—depend on it.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'War Criminals Are Proposing a War Criminal': Tony Blair Floated to Lead Gaza Transition
"The suggestion that Tony Blair—a key architect of the disastrous Iraq occupation and an apologist for Israel's war crimes—should take control of Gaza is insane and obscene."
Sep 26, 2025
Amid reporting this week that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair could head a postwar transitional authority in the Gaza Strip, with support from US President Donald Trump, critics of the proposal are blasting the ex-Labour Party leader as a war criminal.
"It's the war criminal in chief now planning to assist in ethnic cleansing and persecution. After his successes in Afghanistan and Iraq," Lindsey German, convenor of the UK's Stop the War Coalition, said on social media Friday, sharing a BBC article about the development.
While serving as prime minister from 1997 to 2007, Blair played a key part in the US-led War on Terror, sending British troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. Though the 72-year-old has never faced formal charges for war crimes, critics from the UK to the Middle East and beyond have long argued that he should "be sitting in The Hague on trial" for his role in the illegal invasion.
As The Guardian noted Thursday: "After stepping down as prime minister in 2007, he took on the role of Middle East envoy until 2015, and he enjoys a high standing with many Gulf leaders. But Blair is bitterly resented by many Palestinians—who see him as having impeded their efforts to attain statehood—and more broadly across the region for his role in backing the 2003 US invasion of Iraq."
"The Palestinian people have the same right as all people to determine their own future, free from foreign interference or occupation."
Blair began working on a postwar proposal just months after Israel began bombing Gaza in October 2023 and met with Trump at the White House in August. In response to The Guardian's report that the president "is backing" a plan for Blair to lead the proposed Gaza International Transitional Authority, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said: "War criminals are proposing a war criminal as head of.... Gaza. It would be precious comedy if it were not so tragic."
Scottish historian William Dalrymple—co-host of the podcast Empire, whose recent episodes have focused on Gaza—quipped, "Given Blair's superb record in the Middle East, what could possibly go wrong?"'
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest US Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, said in a statement: "The suggestion that Tony Blair—a key architect of the disastrous Iraq occupation and an apologist for Israel's war crimes—should take control of Gaza is insane and obscene. The Trump administration should reject this neo-colonial proposal, which insults the people of the region and threatens to spark more conflict."
"Palestinians do not need a British war criminal to govern them. They need freedom, justice, and an end to the decades of brutal occupation and apartheid. Any attempt to impose outside Western leadership on Gaza after the genocide would almost certainly lead to more disaster," he added. "The Palestinian people have the same right as all people to determine their own future, free from foreign interference or occupation."
Chandni Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto working on a book titled Revolutionary Circuits of Liberation: The Radical Tradition of Palestinian Resistance Culture and Internationalism, pointed to the UK's control of Palestine in the 20th century.
"The UK 'recognizes' the state of Palestine—but is the British Mandate back?" Desai said. "Tony Blair, who helped kill a million Iraqis, is now the US' pick to 'manage' Gaza. The empire never left. Gaza doesn't need a colonial viceroy, its people want liberation and self-determination."
Abdullah Omar, a 24-year-old Palestinian who has been documenting his experience "trying to survive the genocide" on social media, similarly wrote: "Tony Blair, who killed a million Iraqis. He is the one America wants to appoint to manage the Gaza Strip."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular