Media office accuses Israel of silencing global coverage to hide famine as Gaza death toll from hunger reaches 147
Gaza’s Government Media Office accused Israel on Tuesday of deliberately preventing international journalists from entering the besieged enclave to conceal the ongoing genocide and starvation in the territory.
“Israeli occupation authorities continue to promote false claims denying the existence of famine in Gaza, while banning the entry of the international press for fear of exposing undeniable realities to the cameras,” the office said in a statement.
It challenged Israel to open the crossings and allow foreign correspondents to enter the blockaded territory.
The statement came a day after US President Donald Trump acknowledged in a press briefing the existence of famine in Gaza, citing images of starving children, a position that directly contradicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated denials of the crisis.
The media office described Israel’s refusal to permit international coverage as a “full-fledged crime aimed at erasing evidence of the systematic genocide and starvation inflicted on our people in Gaza.”
It urged the international community to take “a firm stance to expose the facts and break the media blockade imposed on Gaza.”
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and worsening conditions for the territory’s 2.4 million population.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 147 people have died of starvation since October 2023, including 88 children.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to a severe hunger crisis.
On Monday, Israeli rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the deliberate dismantling of the territory’s healthcare system.
