BBC and news agencies launch short film calling on Israel for access to Gaza

The BBC and a handful of news agencies have launched a short film calling on Israel to let foreign journalists into Gaza.

The film – created in association with Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters – comes amid increasing international pressure for a ceasefire.

Foreign media have been banned from entering Gaza since October 2023, other than for brief, tightly controlled trips escorted by the Israeli military.

The two-minute long clip from the BBC, narrated by veteran journalist David Dimbleby, shows historical photos from different wars, including the harrowing image of the Napalm Girl, which dramatically changed public attitude towards the Vietnam War when it was splashed across newspapers in 1972.

In the film, Dimbleby says: “History is told by those who report it. Images of the D-Day landings showed the fight to free Europe from tyranny.

“One image of a child burnt by Nepalm brought home the horror of the Vietnam War. In Ethiopia, journalism forced the world to confront the reality of famine.

“In Tiananmen Square, a lone man resisted, defying the tanks. The world ignored Rwanda until reporters revealed thousands a day were being massacred.

“The report of a child’s body washed up on a beach revealed the stark reality of the Syrian refugee crisis.

“In Ukraine, journalists from around the world risk their lives every day to report the suffering of the people, but when it comes to Gaza, the job of reporting falls solely to Palestinian journalists who are paying a terrible cost, leaving fewer to bear witness.

“The Israeli government will not allow international reporters into Gaza to do their work and to document freely what they see.

“International journalists must now be allowed into Gaza to share the burden with Palestinian reporters there, so we can all bring the facts to the world.”

Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News, said: “As journalists, we record the first draft of history. But in this conflict, reporting is falling solely to a small number of Palestinian journalists, who are paying a terrible cost.

“It is almost two years since October 7th when the world witnessed Hamas’ atrocities. Since then, a war has been raging in Gaza but international journalists are not allowed in. We must now be let into Gaza. To work alongside local journalists, so we can all bring the facts to the world.”

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people and wounded more than 167,000 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the fatalities.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and UN agencies and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

Israel’s campaign was triggered on October 7 2023 when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages.

Forty-eight captives remain in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were freed in ceasefires or other deals.

At the weekend, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the UK will recognise a Palestinian state, with French president Emmanuel Macron making the same announcement for France at a UN conference on Monday.