The Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, issued and then revoked sweeping restrictions on foreign journalists working there and covering the recent conflict with Israel, including a ban on mentioning some rockets fell short of their target and killed Palestinian children.
According to various media outlets, including the Associated Press, foreign journalists were told that they could not report on misfired rockets by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in last weekend’s escalation. The PIJ fired 1,100 rockets at Israelis civilians in a three-day period, with roughly 200 of those landing inside the Gaza Strip, killing innocent Palestinians and among them young children.
Journalists were also given a blanket order requiring them to blame Israel unequivocally for the latest escalation, the Foreign Press Association, which represents international media in Israel, said.
But after discussions with the terrorist group, the guidelines were scrapped.
“Such a move would have constituted a severe, unacceptable and unjustifiable restriction on the freedom of the press, as well as the safety of our colleagues in Gaza,” the FPA said in a statement cited by AP.
Hamas requires all journalists entering the enclave to have a local sponsor, usually a fixer, translator or a local reporter. Sponsors were warned by Hamas that they must “demonstrate national spirit, defend the Palestinian narrative and reject the foreigner’s bias to the Israeli narrative,” according to AP.
Sponsors would have also been required to inform Hamas of “any suspicious behavior or illogical questions” by foreign journalists, and to submit a full report of what journalists did in Gaza, in addition to links to all published works.
Salam Marouf, director of the Hamas-run media office, confirmed the revocation, and said that he welcomed “all foreign journalists and media into Gaza and we call on them to come.”
According to the IDF, more innocent Palestinians were killed by PIJ rockets than by Israeli airstrikes.
In one instance, a rocket hit a Palestinian house, killing seven people, among them four children. Palestinian media initially reported that Israel had killed them, but a video released by the IDF showed the rocket landing there.
A live broadcast on Lebanon’s Mayadeen TV on Sunday showed a PIJ rocket malfunctioning and landing in a Gaza neighborhood. Moments later, someone is heard telling the cameraman in Arabic to “please, turn the camera away, turn the camera upwards.”