The head of the government media office, Salama Maarouf, confirmed that the Israeli occupation prevented foreign press crews from entering the Gaza Strip to cover the course of the aggression, by closing the Beit Hanoun (Erez) checkpoint for the second day in a row.
In a statement issued this evening, Wednesday, Marouf called on the International Federation of Journalists and all relevant parties to issue practical positions that reject this violation of the freedom to practice media work and the right to movement, especially since it has become a permanent policy of the occupation in every aggression against Gaza.
He called on the foreign media to shed light on this violation and to hold the occupation responsible for preventing them from coming to Gaza, and to remind the world of the occupation’s attacks against the media and its staff operating in the Palestinian territories.
He stressed that the lack of serious action by international organizations and bodies concerned with the rights of journalists and freedom of opinion and expression is what encourages the occupier to continue the policy of targeting the media and press crews in various ways.
Since dawn on Tuesday, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to a major aggression, which began with the assassination of 3 leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, and resulted in 21 martyrs and dozens of injuries among citizens.
