Journalism Under Siege: Interlocking Physical, Legal, Political, Digital, and Psychological Risks in Gaza War Coverage (January–June 2025)

Abstract

Mass media, especially journalism, is an important part of armed conflicts, helping to make the world aware of them or write the history, yet contemporary wars create serious risks to the safety and professionalism of journalists. The 2025 war on Gaza provided an exemplary hostile environment of ongoing violence, limited access and information control. The paper explores several dangers to journalism during the conflict based on qualitative content analysis of news reports, including physical risks, political intimidation, legal limitations, digital threats, and psychological pressure. The results indicate that journalists had to work in an interdependent and perilous environment where violence was combined with structural and informational constraints, restricting independent coverage and access to credible information by the population, with grave consequences to press freedom and documenting history. The research concludes that protective mechanisms of journalists need to be empowered in order to ensure that truthful reporting is preserved in the future conflicts.