- September 25, 2025
- 11:30 am
- Middle East
The British TV channel BBC, in collaboration with news agencies Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, and Reuters, presented a video calling for access to Jerusalem: international journalists should be granted access to Gaza. The premiere took place on September 24, 2025, in New York at an event organized by the Committee to Protect Journalists, as part of the UN General Assembly.
Content of the Video
The video, narrated by BBC journalist David Dimbleby, uses archival footage of significant events and tragedies captured by reporters over decades — for example, the Allied troops landing in Normandy, the Vietnam War, the genocide in Rwanda, and Russian aggression in Ukraine. The BBC emphasizes that the purpose of this material is to demonstrate the importance of independent journalism at significant moments in recent history.
Relevance of the Request
The text of the video states:
“History is told by those who report it. The fears and prayers of millions… But when it comes to Gaza, the burden of reporting falls entirely on Palestinian journalists, who pay a terrible price for it, and the number of witnesses is dwindling.”
The video concludes with the assertion that Israel is closing access for international press correspondents, limiting their work in documenting what is happening in the region.
Comment from the Director-General of BBC News
Deborah Turness, Director-General of BBC News, stated that journalists perform an important mission by recording “the first draft of history.” She noted that in the current situation, only a narrow group of Palestinian reporters cover events on the ground, facing enormous risks and losses.
Limitations and Risks
Navigating the complex situation in Gaza shows that the long-term absence of independent journalists calls into question the reliability of the information presented. Despite numerous reports of violence against journalists, investigations show that many of the deceased were linked to Palestinian groups and actively participated in the information war against Israel. This creates obstacles to a clear understanding of events by both the international audience and the region itself.
Conclusions and Consequences
The proposal to allow international journalists into Gaza raises the issue of the need to create safe conditions for media work in conflict zones. Only by expanding access can events in this unstable region be covered more fully and objectively, avoiding distortions arising from exclusive coverage by one side.