Virginia Sen. Kaine among Democrats pushing for press access, protections in Gaza

Sen. Tim Kaine is among five Democratic legislators calling on President Joe Biden to urge Israel and Egypt to protect reporters covering the war between Israel and Hamas.

Kaine, D-Va., chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

“Without protections for journalists in Gaza and access for international journalists, the world is unable to get a complete and accurate understanding of events,” the senators wrote Friday in an open letter to Biden. “… The lack of transparency caused by limited journalistic access is at odds with the obligation all governments have to allow citizens to access factual information.”

The four other senators are Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Peter Welch, D-Vt.; Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; and Cory Booker, D-N.J.

The legislators said only a small number of international reporters have been allowed to access Gaza as part of a tour organized by Israel Defense Forces.

“Under this arrangement, journalists must remain with the IDF, and in some cases, face requirements to submit their footage to the IDF for review before publication,” the letter states. “… Other journalists who have requested to enter Gaza through the (Egyptian) Rafah crossing have been refused.”

The legislators called this arrangement “wholly inadequate” and said it was severely restricting the flow of independent information.

The senators further called for Palestinian reporters already working in Gaza to receive standard protections.

“They, at great risk to themselves, have continued working while fleeing their homes, losing family members, and living under constant threat of violence,” the letter states. “The scale of the killings of journalists and media workers is unprecedented in recent times.”

Some media organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists, have also recently called for press protections in Gaza. As of Tuesday, the committee has counted at least 68 journalists and media workers killed since the war began Oct. 7. They are among the nearly 19,000 deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In an interview this week with National Public Radio, CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg said covering war is always dangerous. But she said the aggressive nature of the bombardment in Gaza has created extreme risks for reporters.

“Journalists in Gaza are reporting on the injured in hospitals, for example, and hospitals have been attacked, or they’re reporting on convoys trying to flee the north to the south and those roads have been attacked,” Ginsberg said. “It’s impossible for journalists to report in a way where they can be safe or get to a place of safety.”

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com