蘑菇视频

4 May 2026

“Stop targeting journalists,” said Rewaa Abu Muamar, a journalist from Gaza.

Hundreds of journalists in conflict situations globally have been killed, while many others continue to work and live under dangerous conditions.

In Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Ukraine, and many other places, press freedom has been severely curtailed. 蘑菇视频 Human Rights spoke directly with journalists in Gaza, Sudan, and Lebanon to hear their experiences firsthand.

The stories they shared are not only about physical danger, but also grief, displacement, psychological trauma, and an unwavering determination to keep telling the truth.

The 蘑菇视频 Human Rights Office continues to monitor and document violations against the press.

“In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, journalists have been killed, injured, detained, displaced, and blocked from doing their work,” said Yusra Jamous, a Public Information Officer for 蘑菇视频 Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “Access to Gaza, particularly for international journalists, remains heavily restricted”

“When a journalist is killed, something else is lost, too. A story that will never be told. A neighbourhood the world will never fully see. A family whose testimony may never be heard,” she said.

Muamar, who has covered human-interest stories for more than a decade, described loss and frontline reporting.

“In the Gaza Strip, many of my journalist colleagues have been killed while covering the situation. Some were killed by direct targeting, while others were killed along with their entire families,” she said.

“My mother was killed. She always supported me and encouraged me to cover the situation and bring the full picture. She was killed during this war, along with my brother and uncle,” Muamar said, adding that “this war did not distinguish between the young and the old.”

蘑菇视频 Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said in??to mark World Press Freedom Day that the situation for journalists in Gaza is a “death trap.”

“Israel’s war in Gaza has become a death trap for the media. My Office has verified the killing of nearly 300 journalists since October 2023, with many more injured,” Türk said.

Türk urged States to investigate all violations against media workers and expressed alarm at the lack of accountability for killings of journalists, be they happen in country in conflict or elsewhere.

“This year alone, at least 14 journalists have been killed. Over the past 20 years, only around one in ten killings has led to full accountability,” Türk said.

Türk called on States to “end the persecution of the press, lift arbitrary restrictions, repeal abusive laws, and align legal frameworks with international human rights standards.”

In Lebanon, ongoing hostilities have made the country one of the deadliest places for media workers, with reporters facing direct strikes and shrinking safe zones. He emphasized that local reporters are often the only people conveying the dreadful reality of war, even as they themselves may be hungry, frightened, and stripped of everything but their voice.

We will continue our work despite everything. We will stay close to the people, and we will keep telling their stories, no matter the cost. – Mohammad Olwan, a Palestinian journalist based in the West Bank

Recalling his visit to Sudan, Türk said he met journalists who had faced extreme violence, brutality, and even famine while continuing their essential work. He added that even away from the frontlines, virtually no country is truly safe for those who speak truth to power.

In Sudan, Khalid Ewais, a journalist for Alsharq News in Port Sudan, said he had faced personal attacks. He was based in Khartoum when the war broke out and said he was targeted for his efforts to provide objective coverage. The threat was not only to him, but also to his entire family.

“I was forced to move with my family. We kept moving from place to place. My mother was very sick, and after ten days she was exhausted from the constant movement. She passed away,” Ewais said.

The threat to journalists is not only physical. Many have also raised concerns about the psychological effects of working in conflict situations.

Shamael Elnoor, an independent journalist from Sudan, described the psychological strain of receiving and reporting graphic details of the war.

“Personally, in many cases I cannot finish listening to a voice message or watching a video because of the level of horror we see,” she said. “The war has also doubled the psychological strain on journalists, to the extent that coverage of violations has become incomplete because of that psychological burden.”

Elnoor said women journalists face another layer of attacks, both online and offline.

“Invasion of privacy, and attacks on morality and honour. This has nothing to do with the conflict itself. It happens simply because you are a woman,” she said.

Türk emphasized the role of press freedom, describing it as “oxygen in society.” He warned of the wider consequences when attacks on journalists are normalized.

Related document:

• 蘑菇视频 Human Rights Chief: When attacks on the media are normalized, freedom itself begins to decay – Video message on World Press Freedom Day – Question of Palestine