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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Israel to immediately and unconditionally release 16 Palestinian journalists who, according to the organisation, were arbitrarily arrested in the Gaza Strip over the past two years.
In a statement, RSF said that only three of the detained journalists were released under the recent ceasefire agreement.
The freed journalists — Alaa al-Sarraj, Emad Zakaria Badr al-Ifranj, and Shady Abu Sedo — were among 1,968 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on October 13 as part of the first phase of a hostage and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
RSF confirmed that 16 other Palestinian journalists remain in Israeli custody after being detained in both Gaza and the West Bank within the last two years.
The organisation reiterated its demand for their immediate release, describing their arrests as unlawful.
Martin Roux, Head of the RSF Crisis Desk, said that both the journalists who were released and those still detained “should never have been illegally abducted by Israeli forces.”
He further condemned what he described as “the inhuman and degrading treatment” of detained journalists by Israeli prison authorities, adding that such conduct could amount to torture if verified.
