Gaza journalist to be honoured in International Press Freedom Awards

Palestinian journalist Shrouq Al Aila from Gaza will be honoured in the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) International Press Freedom Awards (IPFA) for 2024.

The award celebrates courageous journalists from around the world in an event held on 21 November in New York.

Al Aila is a journalist, producer and researcher who has been covering Israel’s assault on the besieged enclave since October.

Her husband, Roshdi Sarraj, was killed during the ongoing war, forcing her to take charge of the Ain Media independent production company which he had co-founded.

Much of her reporting centres on the devastating impact Israel's bombardment on the Strip has had on residents, including forced displacement, living conditions, and efforts made to try and escape deadly attacks.

On 22 October, Al Aila was about to sit down to have breakfast with her family at home when shrapnel from an Israeli missile attack on a nearby house killed her husband and wounded their infant daughter.

Ain Media has had huge challenges and losses over the years, with one of its founding partners, Yaser Murtaja, being killed by an Israeli sniper in 2018.

Since October, the challenges the media organisation faces have been exacerbated, as team members are killed, attacked and struggle amidst a lack of resources in the enclave.

Al Aila was chosen to be honoured for the award as her story of survival mirrors the courage and dedication of many other Palestinian journalists in the enclave, who face torture, killing and arrests at the hands of Israeli forces.

Other awardees include journalists who cover Guatemala, Niger, and Russia and who have also faced significant challenges while trying to report on their communities. Some of them have faced heavy government crackdowns, prison and attacks.

"CPJ's International Press Freedom Awardees symbolise the vital work carried out by reporters everywhere to report facts in the face of fierce attempts to suppress the truth," CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement. 

Ginsberg added that it has been a "devastating year for journalists and for press freedom".

The award comes as Israel’s war on Gaza rages on, with at least 41,272 Palestinians killed and 95,551 wounded.

According to CPJ, preliminary investigations showed at least 116 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.