“FOR over two and a half years, journalists in Gaza have recorded death, destruction, and human suffering in unparalleled terms.
“They are as much victims of the conflict as they are chroniclers of a war that erupted – and continues – around them,” reads the citation for the 2026 WAN-IFRA Golden Pen of Freedom award.
As David Walmsley, who is the editor-in-chief of Canada’s Globe and Mail and president of the World Editors Forum, said as he presented the award on June 1: “There is no replacing brave, independent journalism.
“And there can be no replacement for journalists who day in, day out get the images out, often at appalling costs.
“The photo and video journalists of Gaza brought the world’s attention to a story that would otherwise have been suppressed.”
The foreign press has been largely prevented from entering Gaza, unless under strict Israeli military supervision.
This means that the burden of reporting the impact of the war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis has fallen squarely on Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
On top of the daily danger, Palestinian journalists have to endure daily power cuts that have become a fact of life in war-torn Gaza.
The award states that the sacrifice, dedication and professionalism of Palestinian journalists have shaped wider understanding of the war.
“Their work has fuelled coverage of the devastation of Gaza and its people that has reached around the globe; their documentation will remain a visual testimony,” reads the award.
The award also acknowledges those who were injured and killed in the course of doing their job.
Over 260 journalists have been killed, mostly in Gaza, since the outbreak of the war on Oct 7, 2023.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found at least 64 of these journalists were deliberately targeted by Israeli military forces, which is considered an act of war crime under international law.
Thus far, the families of the journalists killed have not been offered justice due to limited official investigations.
The 2026 WAN-IFRA Golden Pen of Freedom award was received by representatives of the three main international news agencies with local journalists operating in Gaza – Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters.
As part of the World News Media Congress programme and award presentation, WAN-IFRA or the World Association of News Publishers also hosted an exclusive exhibition showcasing award-winning photographers whose work has informed global understanding of the war in Gaza.
The exhibition, which is a collaboration between AFP, AP and Reuters, featured a selection of images that capture the narrative of the conflict as well as the human tragedy underlying it.
There was also a special screening of the award-winning documentary film Inside Gaza during the congress on June 2, followed by a discussion on lessons learned from the crisis for newsrooms worldwide.
The documentary follows AFP’s team of Palestinian journalists in the aftermath of the Oct 7th attacks when the region was closed off to the international media, offering a rare and unique insider’s view on the challenges of reporting from Gaza during the war.
WAN-IFRA’s Media Freedom division’s Social Impact Reporting Initiative (SIRI) has long showcased public-interest journalism through providing flexible grants, mentoring and editorial support to journalists and media organisations.
To WAN-IFRA, this mission has taken on urgent meaning in Gaza.
Implemented in partnership with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) and supported by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), SIRI Gaza combines reporting grants with intensive editorial mentorship, training in gender-sensitive storytelling and access to safe workspaces and essential infrastructure.
Since 2024, there have been 60 freelance women journalists who benefited from this programme, with 30 more being supported under the current ongoing round of SIRI Gaza.
