Press association condemns Israel’s continued ban on media access to Gaza

Foreign Press Association pledges to submit ‘robust response’ to Supreme Court over Israel’s media lockout.Published On 7 Jan 2026An international media association has denounced the Israeli government’s continued refusal to lift its ban on unrestricted media access to Gaza, despite the ceasefire in the embattled enclave.The Foreign Press Association (FPA) issued a statement on Tuesday expressing its “profound disappointment” with the government, which had told the Supreme Court two days earlier that the ban should be maintained due to “security reasons”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Palestine was the deadliest place to be a journalist in 2025: Media unionlist 2 of 3Israel kills over 700 relatives of Palestinian journalists in Gaza: Reportlist 3 of 3Israel attacks press as ‘silencing’ policy: Palestinian journalists unionend of listIsrael, which has barred foreign journalists from independently entering Gaza since the war started in October 2023, was responding to an FPA petition seeking free and unfettered access for foreign journalists to the devastated territory.The organisation, which represents journalists from international news organisations working in Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank, pledged to submit a “robust response” to the court in the coming days.“Instead of presenting a plan for allowing journalists into Gaza independently and letting us work alongside our brave Palestinian colleagues, the government has decided once again to lock us out. This comes even when a ceasefire is now in place,” the FPA statement said.The Israeli government, which has allowed only a limited number of journalists embedded with its military to work in Gaza on a case-by-case basis, said its court submission was “based on the position of the defence establishment”, noting that allowing journalists into the enclave could hinder the search for the remains of the last Israeli captive.The FPA submitted its petition to the court in September 2024. The court has granted several extensions to the government.