Reuters and AP Issue Open Letter to Israel Over Journalist Deaths in Gaza

On August 25, 2025, Reuters and the Associated Press issued a joint letter to senior Israeli officials demanding a clear and transparent explanation for an airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, which killed five journalists, including contributors to both agencies. The letter expresses outrage over the targeting of a protected site under international law and raises serious concerns about the safety of journalists operating in Gaza, especially amid Israel’s ongoing ban on foreign press access to the region.

Full Letter

„Dear Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Director of the Government Press Office Nitzan Chen,

We are writing to demand a clear explanation for the airstrikes that hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on August 25, 2025, killing several journalists, including those working for the Associated Press and Reuters. Freelance visual journalists Mariam Dagga and Moaz Abu Taha had worked for AP and Reuters, respectively, as well as other outlets during the war. Cameraman Hussam al-Masri was a contractor for Reuters. Photographer Hatem Khaled, also a contractor for Reuters, was wounded.

We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location protected under international law. These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness. Their work is especially vital in light of Israel’s nearly two-year ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces has acknowledged conducting the strikes and says it is investigating. In a statement, the IDF said it “does not target journalists as such.” Unfortunately, we have found the IDF’s willingness and ability to investigate itself in past incidents to rarely result in clarity and action, raising serious questions including whether Israel is deliberately targeting live feeds in order to suppress information.

We hope this probe will be quick, thorough and provide clear answers. These deaths demand urgent and transparent accountability.

The IDF has a duty under international law to protect journalists and civilians and to take all feasible precautions to prevent harm. Striking a hospital, followed by a second strike while journalists and rescuers were responding, raises urgent questions about whether these obligations were upheld. In all, the Committee to Protect Journalists says 197 journalists and media workers have been killed in the region since October 7, 2023, 189 of them Palestinian.

We are doing everything we can to keep our journalists in Gaza safe as they continue to deliver crucial eyewitness reporting under extremely dangerous conditions.

We once again urge Israeli authorities to allow independent journalists safe, unimpeded access into and out of Gaza, and to uphold their obligations to ensure press freedom and protection.

We are available to discuss this further and reiterate our call for a full and transparent accounting of what occurred.

Sincerely,
Alessandra Galloni
Editor-in-Chief
Reuters

Julie Pace
Executive Editor and Senior Vice President
The Associated Press“