Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from entering the devastated territory, taking only a handful of reporters inside on tightly controlled visits alongside its troops.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists, filed a petition in the Supreme Court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Palestinian territory.

On Oct 23, the Court held a first hearing on the petition and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting foreign journalists access to Gaza.

On Monday, however, at the end of the 30-day period, the court granted the Israeli government a ten-day extension, postponing the deadline to Dec 4.

“The FPA is dismayed to learn that the Israeli supreme court has once again granted an extension to the Israeli government to respond to our petition for free and independent access to Gaza,” the association wrote in a statement.

“We have grown accustomed to such delays in the last 14 months since this petition has been filed. The Israeli government has repeatedly made it clear that it has no interest in opening Gaza and no plan for doing so.”

The group added that it hoped the Dec 4 deadline would be met and that Israel would allow international media “to fulfil its mission of reporting the news and informing the world about the situation in Gaza.”