Foreign journalists still cannot enter Gaza without military escort, Israel tells High Court

The state has told the High Court of Justice that foreign journalists should still be barred from entering Gaza without a military escort, citing continuing security risks. The response, dated Sunday, maintains the restrictions a year after the October 2025 ceasefire agreement and more than two years after the Foreign Press Association filed its petition. The dispute centers on whether journalists can enter Gaza and report independently, rather than through visits organized and escorted by the IDF. The state points to escorted visits allowed at various stages of the war, while the association argues those visits cannot substitute for reporters choosing where to go, whom to interview and what to investigate. In its September 27 request, the association argued that conditions had changed substantially, including through arrangements allowing international aid workers to enter and move within Gaza. The state's latest response, submitted after an instruction from Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg, says the current security assessment still does not allow journalists to enter without a military escort. The state now argues that allowing independent entry temporarily would effectively grant the main request in the petition before the court had reached a final ruling. The court's response will determine the next steps in the case.