A group of 27 governments, acting under the Media Freedom Coalition, issued a joint statement on 21 August demanding that Israel immediately allow independent foreign journalists to enter Gaza and guarantee their safety. Signatories—including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and Japan—said press access is essential for documenting what they called an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe after nearly two years of war. The statement condemned the targeting of media workers and cited data from the Committee to Protect Journalists indicating that at least 192 journalists and media employees, most of them Palestinian, have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since the conflict began in October 2023. The coalition called for investigations into all attacks on reporters, an end to restrictions on press freedom and the prosecution of those responsible. Israel has barred international reporters from entering Gaza except on tightly controlled military tours. Even as it maintains the ban, the government’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry this week sponsored about 10 American and Israeli social-media influencers to film content at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites. The ministry said the trip was intended to counter what it described as “Hamas lies,” while aid groups and rights organisations continue to warn of widespread hunger and a civilian death toll that Gaza’s health ministry puts at more than 61,000.