Israel’s security narrative in the absence of foreign media in Gaza

by Ramona Wadi

62-year-old Palestinian journalist Izzeddin Atiyye al-Masri passing on his journalistic experience to his 15-year-old nephew, Ahmed Hossam al-Masri under Israeli attacks in Khan Yunis, Gaza on September 01, 2025. [Abdallah F.s. Alattar – Anadolu Agency]

Since October 2023, Israel killed 278 journalists in Gaza and 706 of their family members. In December, the Knesset voted in favour of a bill that would permanently ban the presence of foreign media outlets until the end of 2027. In response to a petition by the Foreign Press Association, the Israeli government told the High Court that the ban would be upheld for security reasons. 

Despite the live footage coming out of Gaza during the genocide as a result of social media, Israel’s security narrative was well disseminated by mainstream media. When reporting upon the most harrowing accounts of torture, mainstream media made sure to uphold the Israeli government’s narrative that the military’s actions in Gaza are in accordance with international law. Even though there is nothing in international law that legitimises mass kidnapping, detention, torture and humiliation. Even though Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. 

The question is not just what would be uncovered if Israel allowed the press to operate freely in Gaza, but what has been imparted by mainstream media while making sure their reports fit the Israeli narrative. 

Israel played a major role in controlling information, ensuring that genocide either remained unsaid, or else disputed. Mainstream media, however, was responsible for disseminating Israel’s security narrative. The absence of journalists in Gaza purportedly protects Israel’s security narrative, but that same narrative had to be promoted by the media, despite journalists not being allowed to report directly from Gaza. The contradiction is one that only mainstream media can carry and make excuses for. 

As a result, even the slaughter of Palestinians throughout the genocide was normalised by outlets informing viewers, erroneously of course, that Israel acted in accordance with international law. Any voice claiming otherwise was silenced. Palestinians were silenced by bombs and media narratives. Even the ‘both sides’ narrative was discarded to protect Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The plan, however, backfired. The more the term genocide was suppressed, the more Israel’s actions in Gaza were questioned. And while diplomacy, of course, still favours Israel and its genocide against the Palestinian people, public opinion has clearly shifted. The divide between the public and the politicians, as well as between the public and mainstream media, is one of the most visible shifts since October 2023. Israel may retain the ban on foreign journalists in Gaza, and mainstream media can focus on the international community’s interpretation of Palestine, but the silence only created further disquiet. 

Accountability, however, remains elusive. We have witnessed, without the input of mainstream media, a genocide in Gaza and all its implications, now smothered under the humanitarian paradigm. As Israel upholds the ban, how will mainstream media frame its narrative if it follows the script that the genocide is purportedly over? Or will the ban merely become mainstream media’s tacit and complicit silence? Israel’s killing of Palestinian journalists makes reporting from Gaza even more important. While social media is faster than media updates and narratives, Israel’s manipulation and monopoly over journalism is not only related to Gaza, but an example of how colonialism still controls what narrative to portray. The public has refuted such domination; the media has an obligation to follow suit, since it failed to lead by example.