Nearly two years of war have turned Gaza into a graveyard. More than 60,000 Palestinians are dead, likely more. Two million are displaced. Over a million face famine. Schools, hospitals and food-distribution sites have been bombed. Eighty-four percent of Gaza’s health and sanitation facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and water systems function at less than 5% of prewar capacity. Children are dying from malnutrition. Even those seeking food have been killed desperate to reach limited aid. Fifty Israeli hostages (30 living) and 10,000 Palestinians remain in captivity, a grim reminder of the human cost of war.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that launched its own campaign of violence. But Israel’s overwhelming response – backed by the U.S., which provides over 90% of its foreign military aid, more than $25 billion in two years – has inflicted devastation that cannot be justified. Entire cities lie in ruins. Families have been annihilated. History will remember not only those who carried out the violence, but also those who enabled it or stayed silent.
Among the dead are the witnesses, observers, recorders and documentarians: the journalists, who risk everything to expose the truth and hold power accountable. Since Oct. 7, 2023, at least 270 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza (Al Jazeera, Aug. 11), making it the deadliest conflict for the press in modern history. Though uncertain in number, journalists are being targeted while reporting – a war crime. This is not collateral damage; it is the systematic silencing of voices telling the world what is happening. Israel has denied American and other foreign journalists access to Gaza since the war began.
A haunting reminder appeared last weekend outside the Herald office: names of Gaza’s fallen journalists written in chalk on the sidewalk and front steps – including those killed in the latest attack on Aug. 25 – 278 Palestinian, three Lebanese and two Israeli journalists. It is both a memorial and a warning.
This Monday, Sept. 1, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Avaaz are coordinating a global newsroom mobilization to demand an end to attacks on journalists and independent press access in Gaza. More than 150 outlets across 50 countries are joining. Their message is clear: Stop killing journalists, protect Palestinian media workers and open Gaza to the world’s press. Details are at https://tinyurl.com/y5u6w3fy.
As RSF’s director general put it: “At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed.” This is not only an assault on Palestinian lives, but an intentional assault on the truth itself.
And truth matters. In war, when propaganda spreads faster than facts, journalists cut through the chaos to report reality. They document civilian suffering, blockades and destroyed communities. Silencing journalists shields war crimes and criminals from accountability.
For Americans, there is a moral reckoning. Our tax dollars help fund this war, as they have supported Israel for decades. Now is different. Elected officials are silent as bombs fall, which makes us complicit. The Herald’s editorial board calls on Rep. Jeff Hurd, Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper to stop funding this war, demand an immediate ceasefire and insist on humanitarian access. Readers should, too. Innocent lives depend on it.
Here in Durango, we can raise our voices. On Saturday, Sept. 13, from 5 to 8 p.m., Bread Bakery (135 E. 8th St.) will host Poetry for Palestine 2.0, an open mic to support five Palestinian families. It’s a local step toward global solidarity – a reminder that care and compassion can ripple outward, even from a small town.
The history of Israel and Palestine is complex. But complexity cannot excuse the scale of death and destruction we are witnessing. Hamas’ actions do not warrant the deliberate leveling of Gaza, the starvation of innocent civilians or the killing of hundreds of journalists whose only weapon was a notebook or camera.
Journalism is not the enemy. Silencing journalists silences the world. If truth dies in Gaza, humanity looks away. We cannot afford that silence. Do not look away.
