Reporters Without Borders | 8 July 2025

Over 200 journalists killed in Gaza: RSF joins call to suspend EU-Israel trade partnership

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which accuses the Israeli army of war crimes against journalists in the Gaza Strip, has joined the call by more than 180 international organisations to suspend the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Israel. The appeal cites Israel’s flagrant violation of its human rights commitments in the Gaza Strip.

One week ahead of the next EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, scheduled for 15 July in Brussels, RSF is calling on the European Commission and Member States to suspend the EU-Israel Trade Agreement. In a joint statement, RSF and 186 organisations cite Israel’s violations of Article 2 of this trade partnership agreement, which makes respect for human rights an essential element of the bilateral relationship. As part of its mandate to defend journalists and press freedom worldwide, RSF points out that more than 200 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, including at least 46 who were targeted because of their journalistic activities. What’s more, three reporters in Lebanon were killed by Israeli bombing.

Due to the numerous abuses committed by Israel against journalists in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, RSF has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes committed by the Israeli army in the Palestinian enclave. RSF is also asking for Palestinian journalists to be recognised as victims so that they can participate in the ongoing ICC proceedings.

The EU’s verbal condemnations have gone on long enough in the face of the unprecedented number of journalists killed and the war crimes perpetrated by the Israeli army against journalists in the Gaza Strip. The Netanyahu government, which continues to flout its international human rights commitments, must be sanctioned. As Israel’s largest trading partner, it is time for the EU to suspend its bilateral trade agreement.
Antoine Bernard, RSF’s Director of Advocacy and Assistance

An initial version of the joint statement calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement, released on 19 June, did not include RSF. Despite this appeal from nearly 130 international organisations and trade unions, the EU Foreign Affairs Council refused to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement at its most recent meeting on 23 June.

In August 2024, RSF and 59 international organisations sent a letter to the head of European diplomacy calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel Trade Agreement.