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A Media Campaign Sought to ‘Blackout’ Coverage Against Israel; Here’s What It Means

A Palestinian Hamas terrorist shakes hands with a child as they stand guard as people gather on the day of the handover of Israeli hostages, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
While some media outlets allege that Israel has something insidious to hide by not allowing foreign journalists into Gaza, the demand to be allowed access is a genuine and understandable one coming from some reliable news outlets.
But Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has taken this demand and turned it into a full-on campaign, whose thinly-veiled purpose is a betrayal of journalistic ethics.
That RSF partnered with the activist group Avaaz should have raised red flags in newsrooms around the world. Perhaps because of this, despite the proud boasts of RSF claiming to have over 200 global media outlets signed up, the results of the pair’s media blackout of Israel should be put in perspective.
It was supposed to be a global media blackout — dark front covers, demonstrations, and rage. But the majority of the participating media were fringe outlets or from countries with a limited global influence (like The New Arab or Venezuela’s Tal Sucal).
Nonetheless, the presence of NPR and The Independent should raise some eyebrows.

Unethical Campaign
A unified campaign message meant to be promoted by every media outlet says it all: “At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza reporting on Israel’s war, there will soon be none left to keep you informed.”
The first of RSF’s demands is “the protection of Palestinian journalists and an end to the impunity for crimes perpetrated by the Israeli army against them in the Gaza Strip.”
Clearly, the campaign is aimed solely at blaming Israel and accusing it of deliberately killing journalists.
It ignores evidence that (a) Israel is not deliberately targeting genuine journalists, and (b) dozens of so-called journalists killed by the IDF in Gaza were, in fact, either affiliated with terror organizations or working as actual terrorist operatives.
Indeed, the campaign mentions the death of Al Jazeera “journalist” Anas Al-Sharif in an Israeli strike last month, omitting hard evidence presented by the IDF proving that he was a commander of a terrorist cell in a Hamas rocket-launching platoon.
And while the organizers choose to decry the deteriorating living conditions faced by local Gazan journalists, who are no different than any other resident of the embattled enclave, there’s no mention of the intimidation genuine journalists face from Hamas, or the threats from the terrorist organization to independent journalism in the Strip.
Local journalists in Gaza work under Hamas’ watchful eye, out of bias or fear.
The campaign effectively asks fellow journalists to do the exact opposite of what their profession demands: take sides.
Because it is not really about media access or solidarity with Gaza journalists — consensus issues that sound easy to agree to.
It’s all about demonizing and delegitimizing Israel.
And the media situation is not unique to Israel.
The IDF has allowed embedded journalists to accompany its forces in the same way that other armies, such as the US in Iraq, have done. Gaza is a warzone. Other Western armies that do not wish to see foreign journalists come to harm take the same precautions as the IDF has.
No army wants to add foreign journalists to the mix when it comes to operational considerations. None of this is about “covering up” the harsh realities, particularly when an enormous amount of (enemy-controlled) footage is being beamed from inside Gaza already.
These outlets aren’t reporting the news — they’re performing a script designed to delegitimize Israel.
Scripts are pre-written, visuals standardized, timelines synchronized, hashtags dictated.
What an absolute embarrassment. pic.twitter.com/Y9Y8QN56Lc
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) August 31, 2025
Media Lip Service
The two largest wire agencies — Reuters or AP — did not blacken their home pages. Nor did The Washington Post, CNN, or The New York Times.
This is because professional outlets still believe it is wrong for agenda-driven NGOs to dictate their policy.
In a cowardly fashion, The New York Times jumped on the bandwagon with an editorial, thereby amplifying the message without signing up to the campaign, similar to what The Guardian did. And CNN reported on it, thereby giving the campaign the publicity it sought.
Ultimately, this was not only an anti-Israel campaign, but also an anti-journalistic one.
Professional journalists — not terrorists in disguise or their biased colleagues — deserve to be treated with respect, but they should not be dancing to anyone’s tune.
And let’s not forget the attitude shown by the media towards any kind of pro-Israel campaigning, whether coordinated or not — sometimes dismissively rejected as “hasbara” to delegitimize those attempting to carry out public diplomacy or activism on behalf of Israel.
That a few hundred media outlets felt that a coordinated campaign that crosses the line from journalism into (anti-Israel) activism is a legitimate activity, speaks volumes about the hypocrisy present in newsrooms across the globe.
HonestReporting is a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.