Nationalist leaders lined up to endorse Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a campaign video released this week as the election race begins in earnest. The nearly two-minute clip, posted by Orbán, rolls out support from a who’s who of European and international conservatives, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, her deputy Matteo Salvini, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The coordinated show of support comes as Orbán heads into what is likely to be his most competitive election in more than a decade. Hungary’s President Tamás Sulyok confirmed Tuesday that the country will go to the polls on April 12. After nearly 20 years at the helm, Orbán faces mounting criticism at home and abroad over democratic backsliding, curbs on media freedom, and the erosion of the rule of law. His Fidesz party, which has governed since 2010, is now trailing the opposition Tisza Party, led by former Orbán ally Péter Magyar. “Together we stand for a Europe that respects national sovereignty, is proud of its cultural and religious roots,” Meloni said in the video, as she endorsed Hungary’s incumbent leader. “Security cannot be taken for granted, it must be won. And I think Viktor Orbán has all those qualities. He has the tenacity, the courage, the wisdom to protect his country,” Netanyahu added. Also featured are Spain’s Vox chief Santiago Abascal, Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Herbert Kickl, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, all key figures in the conservative, populist and far-right political sphere. Argentine President Javier Milei also appears in the video. POLITICO’s Poll of Polls puts Magyar’s Tisza on 49 percent, well ahead of Fidesz on 37 percent. Magyar has built momentum by campaigning on pledges to strengthen judicial independence, clamp down on corruption and offer voters a clear break from Orbán’s rule. In Brussels, Orbán has frequently clashed with EU institutions and other member states over issues including support for Ukraine, sanctions on Russia and LGBTQ+ rights, making him a polarizing figure within the bloc. The campaign video, featuring a slate of foreign leaders, positions his re-election bid in a broader international context, tying Hungary’s vote to themes of national sovereignty and political alignment beyond the country’s borders. POLITICO was able to confirm the video’s authenticity via representatives for Weidel and Salvini. Ketrin Jochecová, Nette Nöstlinger and Gerardo Fortuna contributed to this report.

The removal of a prominent TV show host in Bulgaria has sparked a backlash, reigniting concerns about political pressure on the media amid the collapse of the country’s government. Maria Tsantsarova, the host of the political talk show “This Morning” on bTV, the leading Bulgarian television channel, was informed on Friday that she would not continue in her role, according to local media reports. Journalists and citizens responded by gathering outside bTV’s headquarters in Sofia on Friday evening, showing solidarity with Tsantsarova and her co-host Zlatimir Yochev, who was also removed. Tsantsarova is widely considered in Bulgaria as a critical voice toward politicians. “We are concerned about the risk of yet another ‘emptying of chairs’ — the removal of critical voices — from Bulgaria’s national airwaves. We call on bTV’s management to take a reasonable decision that does not run counter to the public interest or the legislation protecting freedom of speech,” said the Association of European Journalists Bulgaria. Tsantsarova’s removal comes at a time of deep political unrest, after the country’s coalition government resigned last week following one of the largest waves of anti-government protests in its history, just under a year after taking office. Protesters in front of bTV’s headquarters carried cups that read “Time to make a real change,” a reference to the same cup that Tsantsarova recently appeared on air with. The TV channel has denied the journalists’ removal in a statement, instead saying the company is “in dialogue with Maria Tsantsarova and is discussing possibilities for the development of its programming content with her active involvement in the new year, which is standard practice.” Neither Tsantsarova nor Yochev has commented publicly on the developments. Bulgaria dropped to 70th place from 59th in this year’s Reporters Without Borders (RSF) media freedom ranking. “Press freedom is fragile and unstable in one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the European Union. The few independent media in Bulgaria are under pressure,” RSF said in its 2025 analysis.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday denounced an attack on investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci after an explosive device detonated under his car outside his home late Thursday. No one was injured in the blast, which damaged a second family vehicle and a neighboring house in Pomezia, a municipality south of Rome. Anti-mafia prosecutors have opened an investigation, ANSA reported. “I express my full solidarity with the journalist Sigfrido Ranucci and the strongest condemnation for the serious act of intimidation he has suffered,” Meloni said in a statement. “The freedom and independence of information are non-negotiable values of our democracies, which we will continue to defend.” Ranucci and the Meloni government have a tense relationship. Report, the show he hosts, has repeatedly investigated government figures, including a probe into the alleged role of officials in the attempted takeover of Mediobanca by Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which led Meloni’s Head of Cabinet Gaetano Caputi to pursue leagal action in July against the program. In recent years, Ranucci has faced multiple lawsuits from members of Meloni’s government, the Senate President Ignazio La Russa, Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and prominent political families, including the Berlusconis. Other members of Meloni’s government also expressed solidarity with Ranucci. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the attack “extremely serious, cowardly and unacceptable,” while Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi pledged full police support to identify the perpetrators and strengthen the journalist’s protection. Ranucci has lived under police guard for years after he and his newsroom received threats due to their reporting on politicians, business leaders and other public figures but also mafia networks and corruption cases tied to organized crime. Earlier this week, he was acquitted in a defamation case stemming from one of Report’s investigations. Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has faced criticism for actions perceived as undermining press freedom, including legal threats against journalists and censorship attempts, raising concerns among watchdog organizations and European institutions about the state of media independence in Italy.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered pointed remarks Wednesday to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić about his country’s progress toward EU membership. “Now is the moment for Serbia to get concrete about joining our union,” said the Commission chief, during a press conference in Belgrade on her tour of the Western Balkans. “Therefore, we need to see progress, on the rule of law, the electoral framework and media freedom,” von der Leyen added. “I know these reforms are not easy,” she said. “They take patience and endurance. They must include all parts of society and the political spectrum. But they are worth the effort. Because they move you closer to your goal.” Von der Leyen also urged the Serbian president to join the EU in imposing sanctions against Russia. Belgrade has consistently refused to align with the bloc in sanctioning Russian energy and goods, especially since it is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas. “I commend you for reaching 61 percent of alignment with our foreign policy. But more is needed. We want to count on Serbia as a reliable partner,” said von der Leyen. Serbia applied for EU membership in 2009 and was subsequently granted candidate status in 2012, later opening accession negotiations with the EU in 2013. Since then, 22 of the 35 chapters of accession criteria have been opened — but only two have been provisionally closed. Leadership in the Western Balkan country has come under heavy criticism in recent years. Protests triggered by the collapse of the Novi Sad train station canopy in November last year turned into a wider revolt over corruption, accountability, and democratic backsliding, which was met with a violent response from police. The European Green Party criticized the Commission chief’s visit to Serbia, calling it “deeply regrettable that von der Leyen honors Vučić with an official visit without visible reservations, while his regime unlawfully detains students and opposition members and violently represses protesters,” its co-chair Vula Tsetsi said in a statement. The U.S. decided last week to sanction Serbia’s leading oil supplier, the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), because it is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft. Vučić met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing during a regional security summit in September, reaffirming Serbia’s commitment to purchasing Russian gas and potentially increasing it. “Since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, Serbia has been in a very difficult situation and under great pressure, but … we will preserve our neutrality,” said Vučić, utilizing Kremlin terminology for its war on Kyiv.

First published on caglecartoons.com, Sept. 23, 2025. | By Becs First published on PoliticalCartoons.com, Sept. 26. | By Bart van Leeuwen First published on caglecartoons.com, Sept. 26, 2025, Austria. | By Marian Kamensky First published on caglecartoons.com, Sept. 25, 2025, Austria. | By Marian Kamensky First published on PoliticalCartoons.com, Sept. 24. | By Dick Wright First published on caglecartoons.com, Sep. 23, 2025, Austria. | By Marian Kamensky

There’s a great deal at stake in the upcoming Czech election — for Russia. So perhaps it’s no wonder that Czechia has been flooded by pro-Russian disinformation of late. A victory by populist right-winger Andrej Babiš, who is ahead in the polls, would see him join Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico around the EU table. The Hungarian and Slovak leaders are on friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin and have consistently torpedoed EU unity on Ukraine. Incumbent Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has framed the Oct. 3-4 vote as no less than a battle over the country’s geopolitical future. “It’s about where the Czech Republic will go. Whether we remain a strong democracy, with full freedom, with prosperity, a country that is firmly part of the West … or whether we drift somewhere to the East,” Fiala told a rally in Plzeň in western Czechia earlier last week that was attended by POLITICO. Against that backdrop, analysts have warned Czechia is being inundated by pro-Russian propaganda and disinformation.  The volume of fake news has increased steadily since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine to a record high of some 5,000 articles per month, according to Vojtěch Boháč, an investigative journalist with Czech outlet Voxpot. A recent Voxpot investigation found that the 16 largest disinformation websites churn out more content than all Czech traditional media outlets combined. Articles ranged from critical takedowns of the EU and NATO to extraordinary conspiracy theories, including claims that Brussels is promoting cannibalism as a solution to climate change. Analysts stressed that the pro-Russian disinformation drive is less about backing a specific candidate than undermining Czechia as a whole.  Recently, much of the political messaging has shifted to questioning the legitimacy of the election, calling into question the very value of democracy, said Kristína Šefčíková, head of the information resilience program at the Prague Security Studies Institute. “In the informational space, we can essentially see the Kremlin playbook being used,” she said.  A victory by populist right-winger Andrej Babiš, who is ahead in the polls, would see him join Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico around the EU table. | Radek Mica/Getty Images Russia isn’t the only foreign power interfering in Czech domestic affairs — China also plays a notable role — but its influence is by far the most visible. “Russia is definitely topic number one right now here,” Šefčíková added. MOSCOW’S CANDIDATE? Under Fiala, Czechia has spearheaded an arms initiative to accelerate ammunition supplies to Kyiv and has welcomed a vast number of Ukrainian refugees, who now make up about 5 percent of the country’s population — the highest per capita number in the entire EU. A win for Babiš, a former communist turned billionaire who co-founded the far-right Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, could well change that. His party manifesto pledges to axe the ammunition plan, and in interviews Babiš has called for “compromise” to end the fighting in Ukraine and avoid a larger war with Russia. His party, ANO, has also called to scrap a legal amendment that helps prosecute those who pass on sensitive information to foreign powers, including Russia. “Babiš is against this ammunition initiative, against spending on defence, he talks about peace without any conditions,” Fiala told the FT. “He helps Vladimir Putin, it’s very clear.” Babiš, meanwhile, has accused Fiala of trying to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, saying the prime minister “dreams of war with Russia.” “President Trump rightly warned President Zelenskyy and, by extension, Europe that he is playing with World War III,” Babiš said in March.  Babiš’ line echoes that of Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, which has stoked fears of war with Russia to justify a sharp turn away from Europe. But Tomáš Cirhan, a political analyst at Masaryk University in Brno, said Babiš is trying to win votes by appealing to a part of Czech society that is concerned increased defense spending will come at the expense of local services. He’s “a pragmatist populist politician trying to say what he needs to get their support, rather than being ideologically a pro-Russian person,” said Cirhan, noting Babiš’ “firm” track record on Russia when he was prime minister from 2017-2021.  Much will depend on whether Babiš forms a coalition with far-left or far-right fringe parties, which are far more explicitly anti-EU and pro-Russian, Cirhan added.  Czechia has spearheaded an arms initiative to accelerate ammunition supplies to Kyiv and has welcomed a vast number of Ukrainian refugees. | Michal Cizek/Getty Images Babiš did not respond to a request for comment. REVENGE SABOTAGE Although the Kremlin has consistently denied any foreign interference in Czechia, the fake news barrage fits into a broader strategy of what experts describe as an aggressive campaign of hybrid warfare. In its annual report published in July, the Czech intelligence service said Russia had used the Telegram messenger service to recruit new agents to spy on and target aid and military sites related to Ukraine.  Many of the agents did not know they were working for Russia, the report said, having been recruited by middlemen.  A spokesperson for the Czech Military Intelligence Service, Jan Pejšek, told POLITICO that the country’s strong support for Ukraine had “led to a reaction in the form of increased activity of Russian intelligence services on Czech territory, including cyber attacks.” The ultimate goal, said Šefčíková of the Prague Security Studies Institute, “is to sow confusion, fear and uncertainty about what’s true and what is real.”  Combating it is not straightforward. Like many European countries, Czechia has banned Russian state media outlets like Sputnik and RT. In March last year it led a successful European effort to sanction the Voice of Europe news website for leading a pro-Russian influence operation.  Yet according to Boháč of Voxpot, as many as one quarter of Czech fake news either directly translates or paraphrases lines from Russian state media. “There is a systematic breaching of sanctions,” he said, blaming a lack of political will to enforce the rules. In emailed comments, a spokesperson for Czechia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said enforcement of sanctions fell under the remit of the country’s Financial Analytical Office (FAÚ) and “where relevant, the police.” The FAU redirected POLITICO to the Ministry of Finance, which cited the “legal obligation of confidentiality” as a reason not to give further details. Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Czechia’s relatively short history as a liberal democracy means the government is loath to appear as a censor, according to Cirhan, the political analyst. The Czech intelligence service said Russia had used the Telegram messenger service to recruit new agents to spy on and target aid and military sites related to Ukraine. | Jaap Arriens/Getty Images  “Any attempts to close some media outlets or some websites claiming that they are disinformation websites is a very sensitive topic indeed,” he noted. SPOT THE FOREIGN INFLUENCE Further complicating the fight against interference is that proving Russian involvement is not always straightforward — even for seasoned propaganda-watchers.  There have been some documented cases of financial and other ties among Czech media figures or politicians and Russian-linked entities. But “in other cases there is ideological or narrative alignment, but no direct proof,” said Šefčíková.  Establishing the exact share of what is Kremlin-directed malign activity versus homegrown content that happens to align with Russian interests is “almost impossible,” she added.  However, the best defense against fake news is trust in traditional media and democratic institutions, she argued. In that case, the country stands a good chance of fighting back against disinformation. In 2024, the Disinformation Resilience Index — a regional ranking of 10 Central and Eastern European countries — rated Czechia as “strong.” But the report also warned of a “rising sense of uncertainty within Czech society and a growing distrust towards the state, its political leaders, the media, and even among Czech citizens themselves.” It’s likely to be music to Moscow’s ears. 

President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his claim that critical television coverage of him is “illegal” and pushed back on criticisms that his administration was taking actions that chill free speech. “When 97 percent of the stories are bad about a person, it’s no longer free speech,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, complaining about an apparent asymmetry between his victory in the 2024 election and his treatment by media organizations. It was not immediately clear what statistics or laws he was referencing. Trump’s comments came days after Disney indefinitely suspended the late night host Jimmy Kimmel after Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr suggested on a podcast that his agency may take regulatory action against ABC, which Disney owns. Kimmel drew ire over comments he made about Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and White House ally who was shot and killed last week. After Kimmel was suspended, Carr said “I don’t think this is the last shoe to drop” and suggested the FCC — an agency, overseen by Congress, designed to act independently from the president — may target other shows, including ABC’s “The View.” The Kimmel saga caused Democrats and some free speech hawks to protest. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded Carr’s resignation. One notable Republican also weighed in: Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who on a podcast released Friday called Carr’s actions “dangerous as hell” and “right out of ‘Goodfellas.’” Trump in the Oval Office defended Carr, calling him “incredible” and “a great American.” He said he disagreed with Cruz. “I think he’s a courageous person,” Trump said of Carr. “He doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegally and incorrectly.”

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor and a foreign affairs columnist at POLITICO Europe. The five stone-faced police officers that detained Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan at Heathrow airport for three trans critical posts this week didn’t unholster their sidearms, but they nevertheless managed to shoot themselves in the foot. Or, to be more accurate, they shot British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the foot, with a rankling arrest that unsurprisingly sparked a political firestorm — and the free speech debacle couldn’t have come at a better time for far-right ReformUK party leader Nigel Farage. “Politics is downstream from culture,” the late American conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart once famously argued. This is the maxim now guiding MAGA ideologues as well as the likes of Farage, who is now posing as a free-speech defender and stirring the pot for the benefit of populists. Never one to mute his hyperbole, Farage was touring Washington this week, stirring up trouble as only he knows how. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee — a panel chaired by Republican Representative Jim Jordan, who’s been examining the impact British and European online safety rules are having on U.S. tech giants — the U.K.’s roister-in-chief was in his provocative element, reveling in clashes with irate Democratic lawmakers. Gleefully raising Linehan’s arrest as another example of the “war on freedom” being waged in Britain — and even Europe for that matter — he compared the U.K. to the likes of North Korea, calling it an “illiberal and authoritarian censorship regime.” He also highlighted the case of Lucy Connolly, a local politician’s wife who was jailed for 31 months for inciting violence, after calling for asylum seekers’ hotels to be set alight. Her goading posts came at the height of the Islamophobic anti-migrant riots that broke out in Britain in 2024. Now released, Connolly has grandiosely dubbed herself Starmer’s “political prisoner,” and her case has became a cause célèbre in MAGA world — despite the fact that in a more orderly era in the U.S., her incendiary remarks may well have been construed as posing a direct threat to public safety and, therefore, not protected under the First Amendment. But for Farage and his MAGA friends, Connolly is a political martyr, and His Majesty’s Prison at Peterborough, where she served her sentence, is no different than a Stalin-era Siberian Gulag. During a visit to the White House this winter, Starmer had rebutted rising MAGA criticism over the Labour government’s handling of freedom of expression and online rules, as U.S. Vice President JD Vance told him that Britain’s “infringements on free speech” also “affect American technology companies and by extension American citizens.”  “We’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom – and it will last for a very, very long time,” Starmer chided gently in response. But according to Farage this week, Starmer had “talked about our proud history of free speech but what people say, what they do, are two very different things.” And isn’t that the truth. Of course, increasingly open-ended and vaguely drafted online safety regulations, as well as some undeniably heavy-handed policing of speech in Britain and elsewhere should be cause for some alarm. And it has prompted many across the political spectrum — not just populists — to rightly to question whether there’s a drift toward “unfreedom” in Western democracies. In Britain, police are now making around 12,000 arrests a year for offensive speech and social media posts that cause anxiety. For Nigel Farage and his MAGA friends, Lucy Connolly is a political martyr. | Neil Hall/EPA For many, the balance between freedom of expression and protection has gone askew and cancel culture has run amok — Linehan’s arrest certainly highlights that something’s amiss. And this has given Farage an opening. But what is it that really troubles the ReformUK leader and MAGA-style populists in the U.S. and Europe? Are they genuine advocates of the classic liberal virtue of free speech, or are they provocateurs using it to foment resentment in a culture war they hope to win? “You can say what you like, I don’t care because that is what free speech is,” Farage told a Democratic lawmaker during the midweek hearing. But despite his righteous rhetoric, much like his MAGA allies, Farage seems more intent on simply replacing the “woke language” of liberals with the anti-woke language of the populist right, on silencing and brow-beating opponents, and on intimidating media outlets  as best he can on the way to establish public cultural dominance. For example, just days before he set off for Washington, a county council led by Farage’s ReformUK party banned the main local newspaper and its website from attending events, and told the outlet’s reporters that elected officials wouldn’t respond to their queries. The ban imposed by Nottinghamshire County Council came after the newspaper had published a series of stories the municipal authority leader claimed “consistently misrepresented” the party. So much for free speech. Now lifted after Farage had a “little chat” with the council amid mounting public criticism, this ban is part and parcel of how Reform often tries to intimidate reporters — or “thuggish bullying” as it’s been described by the Independent’s David Maddox. But bans and bullying are part of the tactics used by every far-right populist. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the sherpa on this, shaping what he likes to call an “illiberal democracy.” U.S.-based think tank Freedom House labels Hungary as only partly free as its government “moved to institute policies that hamper the operations of opposition groups, journalists, universities, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) whose perspectives it finds unfavorable.” MAGA ideologues in the U.S. have now enlarged the Orbán playbook, targeting NGOs and universities and so-called mainstream media with gusto. They see themselves not just as warriors fighting a national battle but as combatants in a civilizational, politico-cultural crusade that’s to be carried out well beyond America’s shores. As far as they see it, they need save Western civilization — from itself, if necessary. Which means that for them, domestic and foreign policy are one and the same, and that liberal Europe also has to be remade in the MAGA image. “Trump and his MAGA camp believe a dominant liberal establishment has skewed U.S. culture towards a weak progressive ideology that does a disservice to America. This ideology is being fed by a ‘globalist elite,’ chief among them Europeans. The new administration is therefore going after all the liberal holdouts, at home and abroad,” argued Célia Belin of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “MAGA’s solidarity with conservative, nationalist and populist movements in Europe has an objective: finding partners for Trump’s effort to transform global culture.”

Nigel Farage claimed the U.K. had become like North Korea in its approach to free speech while giving evidence to the U.S. Congress Wednesday. In his opening statement, Farage, who was wearing a GB News badge, said the U.K. had sunk into an “awful authoritarian situation,” citing the cases of Lucy Connolly and Graham Linehan. Connolly was jailed after calling for migrant hotels to be “set fire” to in a post on X amid the Southport Riots last summer. Farage described her post as “intemperate.” Linehan was arrested by police at Heathrow Airport this week for posts, also made on X, about trans people. Farage said what happened to Linehan could “happen to any American.” Farage warned the U.K.’s Online Safety Act would “damage trade between our countries” and ended by asking “At what point did we become North Korea?” Neither Connolly nor Linehan were arrested under the U.K.’s Online Safety Act, rather the Public Order Act of 1986. Three hours before Farage’s appearance, U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer used his weekly session in front of the House of Commons to attack Farage. “He’s flown to America, to badmouth and talk down our country,” Starmer said. “Worse than that… he’s gone there to lobby the Americans to impose sanctions on this country, which will harm working people. You cannot get more unpatriotic than that. It’s a disgrace.”  Farage also came under fire from U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin, the committee’s leading Democratic member, during the session. Before Farage gave his opening statement, Raskin labelled the Clacton MP a  “far-right, pro-Putin politician” a “Donald Trump sycophant and wannabe,” and a “free speech imposter.” “There is no free speech crisis in Britain,” he continued. “Mr Starmer has not shut down GB News, a station Mr Farage hosts a show on.” Raskin added Farage should be talking to his own Parliament about his concerns. The two sparred over freedom of speech in July, when Raskin was in the U.K. with a delegation from the House of Representatives.

Israel killed five journalists during an airstrike in Gaza, news outlet Al Jazeera reported.  Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera reporter, was killed in a tent alongside four colleagues and two bystanders, the Qatari-owned network said. He shared a video of Israel’s “relentless bombardment” of Gaza shortly before he died. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike, claiming that al-Sharif, who is Palestinian, headed a Hamas terrorist cell and led “advanced rocket attacks” against Israel.  Al Jazeera has repeatedly denied allegations about al-Sharif’s links to Hamas, and the United Nations special rapporteur for freedom of expression, Irene Khan, said last month that the claims were unsubstantiated.  “I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification,” Al Sharif’s final message, posted on X, reads. “So that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing.” Israel has barred foreign journalists from reporting in Gaza, but Al Jazeera has relied on local reporters to cover the war. Israel has accused the network of acting as a “mouthpiece” for Hamas and has killed other Al Jazeera journalists. American nongovernmental organization the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the attack as an example of Israel labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence. Some 186 journalists have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, at least 178 of them by Israel, according to the CPJ. “Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted,” CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah said in a statement. Israel is escalating its assault in Gaza despite losing international support over the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, and said Sunday he expected to complete a new offensive “fairly quickly.”