Foreign photographers will no longer be allowed to film at the scenes of missile strikes in Israel without prior written approval from the military censors, under new directives issued by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.
The move, which targets major international outlets, empowers the Israel Police, the Government Press Office (GPO), and the military censor to enforce stricter controls on foreign reporting of war-related damage inside Israel. According to the directive, enforcement will apply regardless of the media outlet for which the footage is being filmed.
The crackdown follows incidents on Tuesday in Beersheba, Holon, and Ramat Gan, where police arrived at rocket impact sites, confiscated camera equipment, and confronted journalists broadcasting live footage that appeared on Al Jazeera screens globally.
Some photographers claimed they were reporting for other international agencies, such as Reuters, but the police reportedly dismissed these claims, citing visual evidence showing that footage was being used simultaneously by Al Jazeera.
Police documented themselves obstructing camera views – images that were later aired, suggesting coordination between field officers and intelligence units. The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) has since become involved in enforcement.
The GPO issued a new directive on Wednesday, emphasizing that any live or recorded broadcast from combat zones or missile impact areas must receive prior approval from the military censor, both for the location and for the nature of the broadcast content.
“In accordance with new zero-tolerance enforcement measures led by the national security minister and the police commissioner, any transmission – live or recorded – from areas under missile fire must receive explicit clearance from the IDF censor,” said GPO Director Nitzan Chen.
Already on Tuesday morning, police knocked on the door of a hotel room overlooking Haifa’s bay area, where two foreign photographers were staying, and confiscated their equipment. According to police, the action followed a tip that individuals intended to record from a balcony facing Haifa Port.
The photographers were summoned for questioning, and the case was forwarded to the Shin Bet for investigation of potential national security violations.
Escalating campaign by Ben-Gvir, Karhi against Al Jazeera
The development comes amid an escalating campaign by Ben-Gvir and Karhi against Al Jazeera and other international outlets, whom they accuse of violating censorship rules and endangering state security.
A recent example involved the Qatar-based media network’s unauthorized broadcast of a rocket strike on Israel’s oil refinery compound – a location under strict gag order at the time. Israeli media had been barred from even mentioning the incident.
In a joint statement to Walla, Ben-Gvir and Karhi warned that any broadcast from war zones without proper authorization will be considered a criminal offense and a breach of censorship regulations.
“Following the successful coordinated enforcement against Al Jazeera broadcasts and others that violate censorship instructions and harm state security,” they said, “we are implementing a new policy: All foreign journalists who wish to broadcast from Israel during wartime must receive specific written approval from the military censor – not only for the broadcast itself but for the precise location as well.”
Lapid responds to the crackdown
Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision.
“While the opposition has mobilized to explain the war in Iran to the world, after finally, for the first time in a long while, the international media is broadcasting our side as well, the communications minister and the national security minister are once again insisting on carrying out a targeted and destructive blow to Israeli hasbara [public diplomacy] and our international standing.”
Lapid added that “their decision to impose sweeping censorship will not be enforceable as long as people have cell phones with cameras, and it simply crushes the support that has emerged worldwide over the past week for the just war we are waging. There is no limit to the amateurism and populism of these people.”