Gaza conflict deadliest for journalists in decades: UN Chief

New Delhi, Dec 2: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said the Gaza conflict has become the deadliest for journalists in decades, as media workers continue to face the same life-threatening conditions as the civilians they report on.

In a message delivered to the United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East, held in New York, Guterres said the discussion on the dangers of reporting from the Palestinian Territory “holds tragic relevance”.

He noted that journalists in Gaza are enduring displacement, hunger and the constant threat of death. Since the 7 October attacks, more than 260 media workers have been killed in Gaza, he said, calling the scale of loss “unprecedented in decades”.

Reiterating that the laws of war are unambiguous, the Secretary-General stressed that civilians and civilian infrastructure “are not a target”, and that journalists must be able to do their work free from interference, intimidation or harm. He also criticised the ongoing ban preventing international media from entering Gaza, describing it as unacceptable. Guterres reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to what he called the only viable long-term solution: a credible and irreversible path towards ending the occupation and achieving a two-State settlement, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders based on pre-1967 lines, and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. He said journalists play a critical role in this effort by bearing witness and reporting facts that help build an informed global consensus.