Gaza is the deadliest place in the world to be a journalist and a humanitarian worker, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said on Sunday, calling for an end to Israel’s ban on independent international media access to the enclave.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of Unrwa, said more than 230 journalists had been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began, describing Palestinian reporters as “our eyes and ears” in documenting the atrocities.
“They have worked heroically and against all odds,” Lazzarini said in a post on X, adding that they have paid a heavy ultimate price.
Lazzarini’s statement came as Israel, in early January, rejected a petition by the Foreign Press Association (FPA), an organisation representing international media outlets in Israel and the Palestinian territories, demanding independent access for journalists to Gaza.
The Supreme Court in the country said the ban should be maintained due to “security reasons,” despite the ceasefire. Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from entering the devastated territory, taking only a handful of reporters inside on tightly controlled visits alongside its troops.
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Lazzarini said the journalists’ access is “fundamental to media freedom” and “the ban on international journalists has lasted too long.”
According to Reporters Without Borders, Israeli forces killed at least 29 Palestinian journalists in Gaza in a year until December 2025.
Humanitarian workers at risk
Lazzarini warned that the media isolation of Gaza has also affected humanitarian workers, as the enclave has become the deadliest place for aid workers.
“The ban fuels disinformation campaigns and polarised narratives,” he said. “It aims at questioning first-hand data and eyewitness accounts, including the testimony of international humanitarian organisations.”
According to Unrwa’s latest report, 382 colleagues linked to its humanitarian operations, including 309 staff members, have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
In 2024, Israel’s parliament passed a law banning the organisation from operating in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
The move could have severe consequences for millions of Palestinian refugees who rely on Unrwa’s services. Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished the agency’s headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem.
Lazzarini warned of the consequences of the demolition, saying that “what happens today to Unrwa will happen tomorrow to any other international organisation or diplomatic mission, whether in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or anywhere around the world”.
Separately, Israel in December 2025 also announced a ban on 37 humanitarian NGOs operating in Palestine for failure to meet “registration requirements.”
Under pressure from Israel, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has agreed to provide Israel with a full list of its Palestinian and international staff in a bid to resume operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The decision raised concerns over the safety of the organisation’s Palestinian workers.
At least 15 Palestinian staff of the organisation were killed by Israel since October 2023.