Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday arrested veteran Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi from his home in the northern West Bank city of Jenin at dawn. Al-Samoudi, a well-known reporter for Al-Quds newspaper, previously survived a live ammunition injury by Israeli forces in 2022, in the same attack that killed his colleague, Shireen Abu Akleh, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent.
Al-Samoudi’s detention brings the total number of Palestinian journalists currently held in Israeli prisons to 49, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement. These journalists are among 177 journalists who have been arrested and detained since the beginning of the genocide, according to documentation and monitoring conducted by institutions, including those who remain in custody and others who have been released.
The Palestinian group condemned the arrest, stating in a press release that Israeli forces are engaged in an intensifying campaign of systematic arrests targeting Palestinian journalists. These efforts include administrative detentions without trial, daily restrictions on journalists’ movement, and obstruction of press work. The group accused the Israeli military of attempting to suppress documentation of human rights violations and silence the Palestinian narrative.
Among the total number of detained journalists, 19 of them are being held under administrative detention.
The last two journalists to receive administrative detention orders were Samer Khweira and Ibrahim Abu Safia. In addition to administrative detention, the occupation targets journalists through arrests based on what it calls “incitement,” meaning they are detained on the grounds of freedom of opinion and expression. Social media platforms have become a tool for suppressing journalists and imposing further control and censorship over their work.
The Prisoner’s Society also noted that many journalists face inhumane treatment while in custody, including torture, medical neglect, starvation tactics, and abuse, conditions described as part of a broader policy against all Palestinian prisoners.
In Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults have decimated large areas and killed tens of thousands since October 2023, dozens of journalists have also been detained under the “Unlawful Combatant” Law, a legal framework allowing indefinite detention without charge or trial. Several of these journalists remain in conditions amounting to enforced disappearance, with no information available about their status or whereabouts.
Rights groups and press watchdogs have repeatedly sounded the alarm about what they call the most dangerous period for journalists in the region’s history. According to CPJ and Reporters Without Borders, Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world for journalists, with dozens killed while covering the war.
According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, as of April 8, 2025, a total of 211 journalists have been killed since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
