Democrats urge Biden to push Israel for press freedom in Gaza

Dozens of House Democrats are pressing the Biden administration to get tougher on Israel when it comes to press freedoms in Gaza, warning that a lack of media access in the war-torn territory has stifled any push for accountability surrounding military operations that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

In a letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 65 House Democrats voiced their “deep concern” that Israel’s near blockade on foreign press access — combined with the inherent dangers facing the local journalists who are covering the conflict — have left the world with a dim understanding of what’s actually happening on the ground in Gaza, where international aid groups report a burgeoning humanitarian crisis. 

“The restrictions on media reporting have created significant challenges in obtaining accurate, verifiable information from Gaza, leading to increased skepticism about the limited reports that do emerge,” the lawmakers wrote earlier in the month. 

“At a time when reliable information is more critical than ever, the restrictions on foreign reporting undermine the very foundation of press freedom and democratic accountability.”

The Democrats noted that international media groups have pressed for months to grant better access, only to have Israeli leaders rebuff those requests. The “few controlled [media] trips arranged by the Israeli military” are not enough to fill the void, the lawmakers wrote, particularly given the extraordinarily high casualty rate of reporters on the ground in Gaza. Of the 99 reporters killed worldwide in 2023, 72 were Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

“This effective ban on foreign reporting has placed an overwhelming burden on local journalists who are documenting the war they are living through,” the Democrats wrote. “Tragically, at least 130 journalists have lost their lives since the start of the war, and those who remain face conditions of extreme hardship and danger.”

The lawmakers want Biden and Blinken “to take immediate action to advocate for unrestricted, independent media access to Gaza.”

They did not propose how.

“A free press is essential to ensuring that the world can bear witness to the realities on the ground and hold all parties accountable,” they wrote. 

The letter was spearheaded by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), who co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and it was endorsed by 64 other House Democrats. The list features senior members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, including Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.); a number of prominent liberals, including Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.); two members of the party’s messaging arm, Reps. Veronica Escobar (Texas) and Lori Trahan (Mass.); and several veteran Jewish Democrats including Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) and Steve Cohen (Tenn.).

Congress’s only three Muslim Americans — Reps. André Carson (D-Ind.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) — also signed the letter. 

The pressure campaign arrives shortly after the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants based in Gaza attacked Israel, killing almost 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping another 250. 

Democrats on Capitol Hill have been united, both in condemning the attack and advocating for Israel’s right to self-defense. But as the Israel-Hamas War has grown longer, many lawmakers have grown more critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for how he’s conducted the military response. 

Those criticisms have only intensified as the number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza have surpassed 40,000, Israelis have escalated their expansion of settlements in the West Bank and Israeli leaders have largely ignored entreaties from Biden and Blinken for a cease-fire to help facilitate negotiations to free the remaining hostages and to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

The conflict has proven a huge headache for Biden, who’s seeking a delicate balance between demonstrating support for Israel, America’s closest ally in the Middle East, and pushing Netanyahu to do more to protect Palestinian civilians. 

The issue could have profound political implications at home, where Vice President Harris is vying for the White House against former President Trump. Some Muslim American voters have vowed to withhold their support for Democrats unless they make stronger demands for a cease-fire. 

A breakthrough moment in the conflict came last week, when Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar, the militant head of Hamas who had helped to plan the Oct. 7 attacks. Biden, joined by many Democrats, has said Sinwar’s death creates a new opportunity for an elusive cease-fire. Netanyahu, however, has vowed to press on with the conflict.