Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq said the resistance group “appreciate the ‘Freedom to Report’ initiative launched by 200 prominent journalists from around the world, in which they demanded immediate and uncensored access for foreign journalists to the Gaza Strip”.

The initiative started by photographer Andre Liohn has started a petition, in which it states that what is happening in Gaza is “not just a humanitarian blackout, it is an information blackout that undermines the public’s right to know and journalism’s democratic function to hold power accountable,” Al Jazeera reported. 

It calls Israel’s strategy in Gaza as coming from the “very playbook of authoritarianism: Control the narrative, silence independent voices, and sever the link between reality and public understanding”.

In a statement published on Telegram, al-Risheq said Hamas “affirms that the occupation’s policy of preventing foreign journalists from entering Gaza represents a clear violation of press freedom and a prevention of conveying the truth to international public opinion. It reveals its fear of exposing its aggression and terrorism.”

The Israeli military has killed more than 200 reporters and media workers since its bombardment of Gaza began, including several Al Jazeera journalists and their relatives.