ISTANBUL 

Nearly 260 journalists and media organizations denounced the Israeli-imposed restrictions on the press that "silence independent observation," signing the Freedom To Report petition on Monday.

"Nearly 200 journalists, overwhelmingly Palestinian, have been killed while reporting from Gaza. Meanwhile, foreign journalists remain barred from entering the territory, blocked by Israeli-imposed restrictions that silence independent observation," journalists wrote in an open letter. 

They noted that Israeli restrictions are both "humanitarian" and "information" blackouts, while what's happening in Gaza reveals an "erosion of press freedom as a pillar of democracy."

"To defend press access in Gaza is to defend the democratic ideal that truth is not the property of the powerful. If we fail to act, we signal that truth can be managed, that facts can be withheld when inconvenient," the letter noted.

The journalists warned that if the press blackout continues, access to truth can be shut down in times of war, underlining "silence is already taking root."

"Authoritarianism flourishes when the world averts its gaze, and the longer Gaza remains sealed off, the more global press blackouts become the norm," they stressed, highlighting that freedom of the press is "not optional."

"This is not activism; it is journalism, and it is urgent. The choice before us is simple: defend the right to report, or allow its erosion, one sealed border at a time," they further said.

Signatories include journalists from countries across the world such as US, UK, France, Brazil, Belgium, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Portugal and Türkiye.

Freedom to Report is a Norway-based coordinated initiative by frontline journalists across continents from leading media outlets.