JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds of journalists and television crews arrived in Israel to cover the escalated conflict with Gaza terrorists.
Since the start of Operation Pillar of Defense, some 500 foreign journalists have requested press credentials from the Government Press Office, according to the GPO. The credentials allow them free access to conflict zones.
The newly arrived journalists join the some 1,400 journalists and television crew members who cover Israel on a regular basis, according to the GPO.
Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein has directed GPO Director Nitzan Chen to receive the journalists quickly and efficiently, to bring them to communities in the South that are under missile threat, and to provide them with information and data.
One-third of the newly arrived journalists have come to reinforce crews already there, one-third represent North American media outlets and one-third are from Europe, according to Chen.
"We are working so that alongside the photos of planes and tanks, there are the voices of the people who have been enduring a daily reality over the years that no other country would be prepared to accept," Edelstein said in a statement.
