By Palestine has been under attack for 29 days now. And with this ongoing war of misinformation over the Internet from media platforms pushing forward Zionist propaganda, we — more than ever before — are in dire need of finding trusted sources that report what is happening in Palestine as is without any hidden, ulterior motives. It comes as no surprise to say that female Palestinian journalists have been playing a prominent role in showing the truth about the genocide in Gaza.
Just for the record, it is not an exaggeration to say that these female Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been either venturing every second of their lives or working closely with their networks to report every detail happening and is about to happen.
If anything, this blessed land has witnessed some of the most courageous females reporting stories to everyone across the world, like Shireen Abu Akleh, the veteran Palestinian-American journalist who worked at Al Jazeera for 25 years before being shot in her blue press vest by one of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank. But Abu Akleh’s tragic incident does not mark the end of the Israeli scheme of targeting journalists.
Seeing breaking news like this reveals how phony Zionist propaganda is when it claims that it encourages democracy.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 31 Palestinian journalists have been killed so far. On Oct. 7, Sky News Arabia’s correspondent, Firas Lutfi, and his cameraman were assaulted by Israeli cops at the gas station as they were about to buy bottles of water. The Israeli cops checked their identities and forced them to take off all their clothes before they started to verbally abuse them, slam them to the ground, and kick them in their faces.
On Oct. 12, journalists and reporters working at the BBC Arabic were assaulted by Israeli soldiers in Tel Aviv despite their vehicle “being marked ‘TV’ in red tape.”
On Oct. 18, the occupation forces held two Palestinian journalists named Alaa Rimaway and Imad Abu Awad, as reported by The New Arab.
On Oct. 22, the IOF assaulted the father and the two brothers of Mohamed Badr — a journalist working at Al Hadath — in their home in Ramallah, West Bank, and arrested them to pressure Badr to give himself up, which he did on Oct. 28.
On Oct. 25, Wael Al Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief for Gaza, lost his entire family during the indiscriminate attack on Gaza.
On Oct. 26, the political activist and freelance writer at Middle East Monitor and the Palestinian news outlet Felesteen, Lama Khater, was arrested by the occupation forces.
On Oct. 29, the journalist Moaz Amarna was transferred to administrative detention without charge after being arrested on Oct. 16, according to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA).
On Oct. 30, Al Jazeera English’s correspondent in Gaza, Youmna El Sayed, reported that her husband received a threatening phone call from the occupation forces, telling them to evacuate their homes because they would bomb their area.
Seeing breaking news like this reveals how phony Zionist propaganda is when it claims that it encourages democracy. Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesperson of the IOF, said earlier this year on the first anniversary of Abu Akleh’s death that Israel supports a free press.
“In Israel, we value our democracy. And in a democracy, we see high value in journalism and a free press. We want journalists to feel safe in Israel, especially in wartime, even if they criticize us,” he told CNN.
But regardless of all the atrocities happening and all the dangers awaiting them and their families from every corner, female Palestinian journalists are giving their all in hopes they can reveal the truth to the world.
In light of making their voices reach more people, we have compiled a list of 12 active female Palestinian journalists who keep updating everyone on what is currently happening in Palestine.
1. Plestia Alaqad
2. Hind Khoudary
3. Bisan
4. Afaf Ahmed
5. Salma Shurrab
6. Yara Eid
7. Muna Hawwa
8. Maram Humaid
9. Shatha Hanaysha
10. Youmna El Sayed
11. Elia Ghorbiah
12. Muna ElKurd
We have seen the recent cyberattacks on online platforms that went down and disappeared completely. We’ve also seen how pro-Palestine posts and stories are now being shadowbanned or taking too long to be uploaded. So keep yourself in the loop about the current status quo from authentic Palestinian voices.