Over 20 journalists who were aboard ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla have been arrested.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced the arrest of “more than 20 international journalists” by Israeli forces during the interception on Wednesday and Thursday of the international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and demanded “their immediate release.”

“The arrest of journalists and the obstruction of their work constitutes a serious violation of the right to information. RSF denounces the unlawful detention of media professionals who were aboard these ships to cover a humanitarian operation of unprecedented scale,”
stated Martin Rou, head of RSF’s crisis desk, in a statement released Thursday night.

According to the NGO, around 20 journalists from media outlets in countries including Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, and Qatar were on board the Global Sumud Flotilla.

On Wednesday night, the Israeli Navy began intercepting ships in the flotilla after warning their crews that they were entering waters controlled by Israel.

More than 400 activists aboard 41 ships of the flotilla were arrested during an operation that lasted approximately 12 hours, according to an Israeli official speaking Thursday night.

“Various media outlets have lost contact with their journalists,” RSF emphasized.

The SNJ-CGT, the journalists’ union at the French newspaper L’Humanité, which has lost communication with its journalist Emilien Urbach since “3 a.m. Thursday,” condemned in a statement “the unacceptable obstruction of the free exercise of the journalistic profession.”

“Like the other media professionals detained by Israeli forces, journalist Emilien Urbach appears to be held at the port of Ashdod, between Tel Aviv and the Gaza Strip,”
added RSF in its statement.

Press Access Restricted Since War Began

Since the outbreak of war in Gaza, Israel has not allowed free access for foreign press to the Palestinian enclave. Only a few media outlets have entered Gaza, and always accompanied by the Israeli armed forces, with their reporting subject to strict military censorship.

RSF has recorded over 210 journalists killed since the beginning of Israeli military operations in Gaza.