JERUSALEM, Jan 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - An international media association 
expressed disappointment after Israel's supreme court again postponed ruling 
on a petition seeking free and independent press access to Gaza, in a 
statement sent to media on Wednesday.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, triggered by an attack on 
Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Israeli government has 
barred foreign journalists from independently entering the blockaded 
territory.

Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza 
on a case-by-case basis, on embeds with its military.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) filed its petition in 2024, after which 
the court granted the government several extensions to submit its response.

The FPA represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian 
territories, and an AFP journalist sits on its board.

Following its latest hearing on Monday, the court once again postponed ruling 
on the FPA petition, and said it would give an update by March 31.

- 'Behind closed doors' -

"The Foreign Press Association is deeply disappointed that the Israeli 
Supreme Court has once again postponed ruling on our petition for free, 
independent press access to Gaza," the FPA said in its statement.

"All the more concerning is that the court appears to have been swayed by the 
state's classified security arguments, which were presented behind closed 
doors and without the presence of the FPA's attorneys.

"This secretive process offers no opportunity for us to rebut these arguments 
and clears the way for the continued arbitrary and open-ended closure of Gaza 
to foreign journalists," the statement added.

The FPA said there were no security arguments that justify what it called 
Israel's "blanket ban" on media access to Gaza.

The ban comes "at a time when humanitarian aid workers and other officials 
are being allowed into Gaza," it said.

In previous submissions, the government argued that allowing journalists into 
Gaza posed security risks for the military, particularly while troops were 
still searching for the remains of the last hostage held there.

However, the remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli captive, have now been 
returned to Israel, which the FPA said opens the way for independent media 
access to Gaza.

"The FPA urges the court to reconsider its decision and stresses the urgency 
of free, independent access to Gaza," the association said.

Palestinian militants took 251 people hostage on October 7, 2023, in an 
attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 others, according to an AFP tally 
of official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 71,662 Palestinians, 
according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the 
United Nations considers reliable.

Media restrictions and limited access have meant that AFP and other media 
have been unable to independently verify casualty figures or freely cover all 
the violence.