“The Gaza Project” – how a coalition of journalists investigated the killing of Palestinian journalists

More than 200 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched a war of retaliation for the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, according to the latest data from The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Faced with this unprecedented situation, Forbidden Stories launched the Gaza Project – gathering more than 50 journalists from 18 media outlets – to investigate the targeting of several Gazan reporters and media buildings by the Israeli army.

The team also completed some unfinished reporting of Palestinian journalists who were killed or injured.

That’s long investigative work lasting several months and requiring access to satellite images and open-source information analysis to try to understand the circumstances in which certain journalists were killed while access to the area is impossible. They have published two chapters of the project, the first one in June 2024 and the last one in March 2025.

This project is part of the mission of Forbidden Stories, which is to continue the investigations of reporters who have been murdered, threatened, or imprisoned.

We spoke with Laurent Richard, founder and executive director of Forbidden Stories.

How did this project come about?

The Gaza project was obviously a natural fit for Forbidden Stories because it's the first time we've witnessed such a massacre of journalists in a conflict. We've never seen so many journalists killed in a conflict, which is also close to foreign journalists.

The goal was to determine the pattern, to find out if there was a method replicated by the Israeli authorities, whether through the military or through information, to undermine access to information by discrediting journalists on the ground by spreading disinformation campaigns, but also militarily by attacking newsrooms and targeting journalists wearing “press” vests.

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You also used the collaboration of many journalists for this project?

‌I was convinced that the collaborative method with around fifty journalists, with dozens of different media outlets, was the most effective way to work in an area to which you don't have access.

This topic is undoubtedly the most divisive topic in the world, but we managed to bring on board English, German, French, Israeli and Palestinian journalists as well. I'm very proud that we managed to publish all our investigations using a methodology focused solely on the facts, and only the facts.

How do you manage to work without having access to the area?

‌We are using different methods, including satellite image analysis and open-source information analysis, to try to understand the circumstances in which certain journalists were killed and to determine whether or not they were targeted specifically because they were journalists.

‌We actually also obtain information in the traditional way, by approaching sources within the Israeli Defence Ministry and witnesses who saw shootings in the Gaza Strip targeting operations. So we cross-check – what's very important, especially when we don't have access to the field – to verify what we're going to publish.

‌‌That's also the strength of collaboration, meaning that if there are 50 journalists, each piece of information is fact-checked 50 times.

‌‌How long does it take you to do one investigation?

‌‌It does vary, but on average, for each investigation involving around ten media outlets, we spend between four and eight months. We go as far as possible; it's on very complicated and sometimes very dangerous subjects, so we take the time necessary to get there.

Do you do this for every Palestinian journalist who was killed?

‌‌Unfortunately, we don't do it for every journalist because we don't have the resources. First, there's the work of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which document cases of journalists killed or threatened around the world. And our work, we're truly a global investigative network; it involves taking a story and then investigating it as deeply as possible.

Did you face any challenges?

‌‌I will give you one example of a challenge we faced and continue to face. We investigated the Agence France-Presse (AFP) building and other buildings belonging to journalists that had been targeted by the authorities and that had been shot at. We wanted to know who fired the shots and whether it had been intentional or not.

‌‌We managed to determine that it was an Israeli military vehicle that fired at the AFP building, contrary to what the Israeli army had said in previous statements. The thing is, we were able to determine this because we obtained satellite images that showed the location from which the munitions had been fired. That location had been occupied by Israeli military vehicles the day before, and the day after the shooting, those vehicles were no longer there.

‌‌We knew that the image existed, but Maxar (a satellite image company) refused to give us this image. We made multiple requests, but Maxar refused to provide access to dozens and dozens of journalists who made a joint request. Normally, Maxar gives these images to all journalists. So it was quite surprising and quite unusual.

And among all these stories, is there one that stood out to you more than others?

‌‌There is the story of Fadi Alouaidi, who was one of the journalists who was injured and whose targeting was investigated. He was wearing a press vest and was with other journalists outside an area where fighting was supposed to be taking place.

‌So he was not in an area that needed to be evacuated, but he was targeted by quadcopters, otherwise called drone snipers, on several occasions. There is his case, but there are so many other cases of journalists who posed no threat, who were just wearing a press vest, and who were identified as Fadi Alouaidi as a journalist.‌‌

We tend to suggest that behind a drone operator, it’s a matter of algorithms and a lot of artificial intelligence, but in the end, it is still human and political decisions that are made when journalists are targeted because they are journalists.

Did you receive any pressure?

‌‌No, we didn't. That was precisely why I wanted us to do this project, because the strength of Forbidden Stories is being able to count on a global network of editorial teams from different countries, different nationalities, and different jurisdictions.

‌‌So legal and judicial pressures can't work, nor can physical pressure, because there are 40 or 50 of us. And so that's precisely where we have our strength, and we had a duty to ensure this project prevails.

‌‌What impact do you think all your work will have? Could it have some consequences in courts later on?

‌‌It happens regularly that our investigations are the subject of the attention of magistrates who see our evidence as potential evidence for ongoing proceedings. So that could be one of the impacts.

‌‌I think one of the strong impacts the project had is sending a kind of signal of collaboration, solidarity, and the capacity of journalists. Despite the cultural, ideological, or political divides that may exist in the Gaza Strip across borders, depending on the country you're in, Forbidden Stories has managed to bring journalists together.

‌‌And now, there's the United Nations press freedom rapporteur named Irene Khan, who has several times ended her speeches with the Forbidden Stories slogan: “Killing the journalist won't kill the story.” This is also worth highlighting because she is just the UN rapporteur. So it also sends a very strong signal and shows that from an institutional point of view, we are also making an impression.‌‌

Source of the cover photo: generated with ChatGPT