Reuters Stops Sharing Gaza Team Locations After Deadly Strike on Journalists
International news agency halts coordination with Israeli military following the death of a cameraman in a hospital attack.
Reuters ceased sharing the precise locations of its media teams in Gaza with the Israeli military, marking a significant shift in safety protocols following a deadly August 25 attack on Nasser Hospital that killed 22 people, including Reuters cameraman Hussam Al-Masri, the international news agency told NBC News. The decision reflects growing alarm over journalist safety as nearly 250 Palestinian media workers have been killed during Israel's military campaign in Gaza, making this conflict the deadliest for journalists in recorded history.
Al-Masri was one of five journalists killed in what witnesses described as a "double tap" attack, where Israeli forces struck the hospital complex twice within minutes, targeting rescue workers and journalists who had arrived at the scene of the initial strike. The veteran cameraman had frequently operated Reuters' live broadcast position from the hospital's rooftop over the past 18 months.
Breakdown in Military-Media Coordination
Reuters initially followed standard wartime practice by providing Israeli forces with its team locations "in an effort to ensure they would not be targeted," according to a Reuters spokesperson. This included repeatedly notifying the Israel Defense Forces that journalists were stationed at Nasser Hospital, where Al Ghad TV later documented strikes.
However, the mounting death toll among journalists prompted the agency to reverse course. "We subsequently desisted from giving precise coordinates of our teams after so many journalists were killed in IDF strikes," the Reuters spokesperson stated, according to NBC News.
The Israeli military offered "no further comment beyond the statement that has been put out" when asked about Reuters' decision. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the hospital attack as a "tragic mishap".
"We subsequently desisted from giving precise coordinates of our teams after so many journalists were killed in IDF strikes." — Reuters spokesperson to NBC News
Unprecedented Toll on Press Freedom
The Gaza conflict has emerged as the most dangerous period for journalists in modern history, according to multiple international organizations. The United Nations reported that Israeli forces had killed 247 Palestinian journalists as of August 11, 2025, while the Committee to Protect Journalists documented 192 journalist deaths, with at least 184 being Palestinian.
The Costs of War Project at Brown University determined that journalist casualties in Gaza exceed those from the U.S. Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and conflicts in the former Yugoslavia combined. The International Federation of Journalists reported at least 180 Palestinian journalists and media workers killed by Israeli forces as of August 2025.
Recent attacks have intensified concerns about deliberate targeting. On September 2, two more Palestinian journalists were killed in separate Israeli strikes. On August 11, prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif and four colleagues died in what Palestinian authorities characterized as a targeted airstrike near Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital.
International Condemnation and Legal Implications
The Nasser Hospital attack prompted widespread international condemnation from world leaders and press freedom organizations. French President Emmanuel Macron declared the strikes "intolerable," emphasizing that "civilians and journalists must be safeguarded at all times".
The Committee to Protect Journalists urged the international community to "hold Israel accountable for its continued unlawful attacks on the press," while Reporters Without Borders called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to ensure journalist protections.
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said the killing of journalists "should shock the world into action, demanding accountability and justice for all those killed". The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate characterized the systematic targeting as "an open war against free media, aiming to instill fear in journalists and hinder their essential work".
Documentary Role Under Siege
Palestinian journalists have served as the primary source of information from Gaza, as Israel has maintained a nearly two-year ban on foreign journalists entering the territory. This restriction has made local media workers the sole witnesses to document military operations, humanitarian conditions, and civilian casualties.
Al Jazeera condemned what it described as Israel's "systematic effort to silence the truth," noting that the killing of its journalists represents "yet another blatant and premeditated assault on press freedom". The network emphasized that its Gaza-based journalists were among the few remaining voices reporting from within the territory.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation accused Israel of executing "a blatant campaign to discredit, silence, and kill journalists," while Amnesty International denounced the killings as war crimes.
Pattern of Alleged Deliberate Targeting
International reports and organizations have accused Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian journalists, both while on duty and in their homes with their families. Video evidence from the Nasser Hospital attack shows the second strike apparently targeting rescuers and journalists who had arrived following the initial attack.
Three of the five journalists killed at Nasser Hospital died in the second strike, including a female journalist, according to UN officials who described this as evidence of systematic targeting rather than accidental casualties. Human rights organizations have identified the double-tap attack method as a pattern in Israeli military operations.
Gaza Government Media Office data shows that journalist killings have accelerated throughout 2025, with 42 additional Palestinian journalists killed between January and July, raising the total from 160 to 202 during that period.
Media Safety Protocols Under Review
Reuters' decision to stop sharing location data represents a significant shift in safety protocols for conflict journalism. Traditional practice involves coordination with military forces to prevent accidental targeting, but the unprecedented journalist casualty rate has forced news organizations to reconsider these arrangements.
Other major news organizations operating in Gaza, including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, have not publicly announced similar policy changes, though they face identical risks. The Associated Press lost journalists in the same Nasser Hospital attack that killed the Reuters cameraman.
The Foreign Press Association, representing international media in Israel and the occupied territories, demanded "an immediate explanation from the Israeli military" regarding the hospital attack and expressed outrage over the continued targeting of journalists.
Broader Context of Press Freedom Crisis
The journalist deaths occur amid what Reporters Without Borders identified as the deadliest year for media workers globally, with over 120 journalist fatalities in 2024 alone. However, the Gaza conflict accounts for the majority of these casualties, highlighting the extreme dangers facing media workers in the territory.
Israel's restrictions on international media access have placed additional pressure on Palestinian journalists to document events, making them indispensable witnesses to the humanitarian crisis and military operations. This role has apparently made them targets rather than protectors of international humanitarian law.
The systematic nature of attacks on media workers has led to accusations that Israel is conducting what amounts to a war on press freedom itself, aimed at preventing documentation of military operations and their civilian impact.
Future Implications for Conflict Coverage
Reuters' policy change signals broader challenges facing international news organizations attempting to cover active conflicts where journalist safety cannot be guaranteed through traditional military coordination. The breakdown in safety protocols may force fundamental changes in how media organizations approach dangerous assignments.
As the Gaza conflict continues with no resolution in sight, the mounting journalist casualty toll threatens to create an information blackout in one of the world's most closely watched conflicts. The international media community faces difficult decisions about how to maintain coverage while protecting staff in an environment where traditional safety measures have proven inadequate.
The ultimate impact of these developments may extend beyond Gaza, potentially influencing how conflicts worldwide are covered and whether traditional assumptions about journalist protection during warfare remain viable in contemporary military operations.