they already have been. >> al jazeera's bureau chief mourns family members killed in an israeli attack. journalists are among the dead. is anywhere in the gaza strip safe? this is "inside story." ♪ bernard: hello, and welcome to the program. i'm bernard smith. one of the best-known journalists in the gaza strip,

israeli shot and killed shereen last year. his wife, daughter, son and grandson were killed in an airstrike on a refugee camp in gaza on wednesday, a place they left their home for, a place they believed to be safe. despite the tragedy, he has pledged keep reporting. >> no doubt it will not stop me from doing my duties, no matter the price we are paying. my voice will continue to tell the truth. in a few minutes i will go live on air. shame on the israeli occupation forces. bernard: more women and children have been killed in this war than men. hospitals, schools, refugee camps have been razed in relentless israeli attacks. journalists have been victims. 34 media workers have been killed, 24 palestinians

according to the committee for the protection of journalists. in the face of such violence, is anywhere in gaza safer anyone? we will discuss this with our guests in a moment, but first let's talk to a journalist from al jazeera who has covered gaza for 12 years. he joins us in central gaza. thank you for joining us. i know it is a difficult time for you. tell us about the journalist and his family. correspondent: you know how the relationship between al jazeera, he is not only a colleague but a big brother, close to everybody. in terms of the al jazeera team, he is an advisor for everyone

since he has the most experience in gaza if not palestine. we have been sharing a lot of social and personal including birthdays and the marriage of his son last year. we are a family together and with other colleagues. we worked together in alg -- in al jazeera for years. i know what it is like to work daily as a reporter. then, finally, he joined al jazeera. he is the bravest journalist i have ever met and worked with.

despite all these conditions, hard conditions, working under the fire, he decided to stay in gaza and keep reporting on the destruction. i met him three days ago and asked why he is staying here, and he said, where else can we go? he thought he secured his family, moving them to the refugee camp, but unfortunately no place is safe. bernard: you are a journalist and a family man, how have you been able to manage both aspects of your life? >> the major challenge i have been facing, as a father i was forced to be displaced with my family. you have to meet the minimum

need for the family. we spent a long time filling bottles of water at some wells justifying water for our children. the food, the bread, we line up at the bakery and it is not even safe. some people were killed lining up at the wells or the bakeries. we have been reporting that. this is the first challenge. the second thing is the fear. the children look at the father is the main source of power and support, and they can see the fear and the weakness in the father. this psychologically is very dangerous, and for the long term, when the family loses the faith in the main source of power, the father.

i asked my daughter a few days ago, how do you feel? she said, if you are ok, we are ok. this adds more challenges to the challenges we are facing. in our work and with our families. bernard: thank you for talking to us from gaza. please, look after yourself and your family, you and all your colleagues in gaza are in our thoughts. please take care the best you can. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. bernard: let's bring in our guests. in new york is jodie ginsberg, president of the committee to protect journalists a nonprofit organization that defends the rights of journalists. in the occupied west bank is mustafa barghouti, secretary general, palestinian national initiative.

and then the hunt during capital is -- in the honduran capital is irene khan, u.n. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. a warm welcome to you all. mustafa barghouti, can you tell us how important the reporting is in the arabic speaking world? mustafa: he is a very warm and close colleague who has been doing wonderful work in terms of journalism, covering gaza all these years. he has covered so many wars, so many aggressions gaza. i personally knew him very well. i happened to be in gaza in the 2014 war during which time we met many times. he did a wonderful and professional job, and there were two icons of al jazeera in the

occupied territories. unfortunately, both of them had this terrible tragedy. she was killed by an israeli sniper, and the report stated clearly she was assassinated for no reason by an israeli sniper. now he is losing his family, his wife, his son and daughter. it is a terrible tragedy but it indicates what they have to live through in palestine. let me add up to this moment, 22 journalists in gaza have been killed during this terrible attack by israel in the last 20 days. it also reminds you that during the last 10 years in addition to these journalists, 52 other

journalists were also killed by the israeli army in the west bank and gaza. bernard: jodie, there perhaps is nowhere more dangerous to operate than gaza at the moment. what are the challenges you understand they are facing above the ordinary challenges from reporting and gaza in recent conflicts? jodie: as you heard, this is the deadliest conflict for journalists reporting in this region ever in the 30 years that it has been documented. it looks like the worst period for journalists covering conflicts anywhere ever in those 30 years. it is extreme a challenging to cover gaza, there is nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. and yet we are reliant on those journalists inside gaza to tell

us what is happening. everyone who is a journalist has effectively become a war reporter, and that is the case for any gaza journalist for many years. the challenges include lack of electricity, the dangers of repeated airstrikes and so on. all of that while they are immersed and living among friends and family. bernard: irene, from your perspective, the importance of freedom of expression and opinion, what are the challenges of journalist trying to do that in gaza? irene: first of all, freedom of expression is extremely important. particularly in times of conflict. in this conflict, it is indiscriminate. these attacks against all civilians, journalists -- they

have no protection. civilians in gaza have no protection from indiscriminate disproportionate attacks. what good is your jacket with press on it going to do? there are no rules that have been followed by israel in this conflict, no rules applicable to civilians are being respected. that is an immense tragedy for the people on the ground but for international humanitarian law, the entire system of rule of law is under pressure here. and journalists on the front line are the ones who are showing with their courage and resilience how much of a blatant disregard of humanitarian law is taking place in gaza right now. bernard: we are trying to look at how journalists can report from gaza and the occupied west

bank. do you see a way palestinians are reported about is different from the way israelis are reported about? mustafa: of course, there is a huge difference, especially during this terrible war. israeli perspective is presented repeatedly so many times, and even when it is blunt lies like the misleading and black media information about decapitating children or raping women, which many journalists had to apologize about. cnn reporters on the los angeles times as well, but these lies keep repeating. unfortunately, what i see in many international media outlets as they not only report what israelis are saying but they do not report what palestinians are

saying, and on top of that, they would have 10 interviews with israelis, and maybe one occasional interview with the palestinian. the strange thing is the broadcaster, or the one running the interview will be not only giving the israeli point of view but repeating the same propaganda while interviewing the palestinian. that by itself shows how skewed the situation is, how unfair and improper it is. the problem is also when they report about the israeli situation, it is about human beings, a person or a child or a family affected. but then it is numbers only on the palestinian side. that is why the case of this journalist may bring some light on the fact that 7000

palestinians killed, and more than 3000 children killed are human beings, not just numbers but people who lived and worked, fathers, mothers, children, sisters and brothers. that is exactly what is missing in most of the international media outlets. it is a lot of discrimination, a lot of unacceptable discrimination. more than that, the lies keep coming from israel. they keep repeating them. one last point, they tend to blame the victim. blaming the victim. they blame us for being bombarded and killed. this is so unacceptable. bernard: jodie: journalists operating in gaza and the west bank as well, what are your main concerns for journalists

reporting? it is very dangerous in the west bank as well. jodie: it is incredibly difficult to be safe and reporting on this area. not only do we have the military launches and ground invasion but increasingly journalists are at risk when they are going out to report about people who want to take revenge on journalists almost for reporting what is happening. we have seen cases of journalists even in israel being pulled out of their cars, harassed, threatened. we have seen targeting of military -- sorry -- media installations which would prevent the media from reporting and getting the news out. it is not just of the military risk that journalists face but harassment and threats from

ordinary individuals, the police and others for doing their jobs. bernard: i want to ask about the challenges of battling fake information. there has been concern that major social media groups like meta have been heavily censoring palestinian content compared to content in hebrew. how do you balance the need for information? irene: first of all, there is no entry to access for journalists to gaza and the west bank. that is one way in which news is being censored. only some sources can work there, all journalists have access. i have received reports social media platforms are taking down posts. in the case of meta, there was a

decision by the oversight board about the disproportionate removal of palestinian posts. meta claims it has sought to improve its content policies, content moderation policies, but complaints are still coming in. it is hard to judge what is happening because these social media platforms have their own ways of managing content. what we also know is a number of european states have tried to stop pro-palestinian protests, have tried to remove palestinian flags when demonstrators are using them. that censorship is not permissible under international law. on the ground i can imagine how terrible it must be for journalists who are still reporting. very rarely has there been such

a demand of courage for journalists on the ground. full and free access to all media should be a fundamental requirement in a situation like this because that is the way, from diverse sources, that readers will be able to make out what is propaganda and fact. at the moment that is not being allowed. there is a blockade not just on civilians and humanitarian aid but free access. jodie: i want to comment and echo that point. because of the quantity of misinformation and disinformation, that is why it is so vital to have a plurality of media covering this conflict. we are concerned about threats to censor al jazeera. it is important at this moment when people are finding it difficult to know what to believe that you have a

plurality of media able to report what is happening. even in the face of unimaginable threats and pressure. bernard: i want to ask about journalists operating in israel. some israeli journalists have not been able to question the actions of their country because of the atmosphere that in israel you are either for us or against us. what are you hearing about that? jodie: we are hearing similar concerns that people have been threatened for asking questions. that is the job of journalism, to hold power to account, to ask difficult questions. and if possible to remain patriotic and a citizen of your country, and you should not be threatened or prevented from doing so either by the government officials or the mob. bernard: you have done so many

interviews with foreign media and many do not speak you until there is conflict. what are the biggest challenges you have faced in the ignorance you come across with journalists who really speak to you? mustafa: as you said, we never interview unless something happens that includes israelis. before this started, for eight-month we had lost in the west bank 248 palestinians including 40 children. we had settlers burning houses and cars, attacking communities. none of these foreign journalists were here or tried to report about that. very few, if any. that is one example. once an israeli is hurt or something happens to israel, everybody is here. i want to add something about

silencing journalists and the people. before this attack started, we know there was an act of intellectual terror being practiced by different zionist organizations in different countries. the best example is germany. they are immediately attacked forcing people to resign from their jobs, threatening them. it has now gotten much worse. i think the basic approach of any journalist who works professionally, who does not belong to either side is to be balanced in their approach. we just heard in the process of which hunting that is taking place against the secretary-general of the united nations, who just said this did not happen in a vacuum, and there is an occupation. united states admits there is

occupation in settlers, but because he said that, they are which hunting him, and the foreign minister of israel in the united nations had the guts to say that from now on there is no place for balanced positions. only a fascist would say that. either you are on our side completely, or our enemy. journalists are not allowed into gaza now. those who are there are threre. but journalists in jerusalem, they would not let them go to gaza unless behind the israeli army and reporting what the israeli is telling them. they are arresting journalists in the west bank. even people who have been interviewed, just commentators come on they are arrested because they are expressing their views. i think it was correct that the

journalists thought the killing of his family was an act of revenge for what he has been doing honestly to reap in gaza -- to report in gaza. bernard: a polarized media environment is not unique this level of conflict intensifies it. irene: it certainly does, and that is why a want to reemphasize the importance of human rights. human rights are universal. the obligation of states to uphold human rights is also universal. there is a right to medium cream -- there is a right to media freedom. that is being denied. that is being run roughshod by the israeli authorities and others at the moment. i think that is a very dangerous precedent, and has been over the years. there is not sufficient

attention to the palestinian problem. ukraine wiped out all other conflicts. i hope this will not be a transient thing. it has to be solved, there are deeper root causes of this conflict that continue. and the victims are the civilians in gaza and people in the west bank. this problem has to be solved otherwise the international community is only creating more problems for the future. bernard: can i ask about the challenges of reporting in such a polarized media environment? jodie: it is something unfortunately we are seeing internationally, it is acute in this conflict. it is an environment in which people highly personalize, so in addition to all the physical attacks people received, there are highly personalized attacks.

for those covering from the outside in the west bank. it is important, and i want to emphasize the job of a journalist is to report the facts, what they see. ever job is not to take two views, not to tell you whether it is raining or not, it is important we recognize the job of journalists is to report the facts and that people should not be targeted either physically online or harassed with any other mistreatment for doing their jobs. bernard: the last question, how challenging is doing palestinian diplomacy at the moment? how difficult is it to get the palestinian voice heard? mustafa: it is not difficult, not impossible, nothing will restrain us. we will keep doing what we can and try to penetrate this black

forest of misleading information and fabrications to bring true light to the people. truth to the people. i always say to my colleagues, you need only do 1/10 of what the israelis do because the truth is on our side. this is what could protect the lives of people being killed around the clock, when every five minutes a palestinian is killed, and every 10 minutes a palestinian child loses his life. bernard: we are out of time but thank you for your contributions. thank you to our guests, jodie ginsberg, mustafa barghouti and irene khan. thank you for watching. you can see the program any time by visiting our website, al jazeera.com. or go to our facebook page. you can join the conversation on x.

for me, bernard smith, and the whole team, good night.