[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 79 (Monday, May 11, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2194-S2195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

  Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, World Press Freedom Day, observed annually 
on May 3, is not only a celebration of the world's intrepid 
journalists, but a reminder that journalists and the free press at 
large are under attack. In 2025, a record number of journalists and 
media workers were killed, a somber milestone.
  International humanitarian law provides clear protection for 
journalists and civilians, including protection from direct attack and 
the indiscriminate use of force. International law requires that those 
engaged in conflict take precautions to verify that targets are lawful, 
avoid attacks in areas where civilians are present, and facilitate the 
rapid provision of medical care to the wounded.
  Two-thirds of the journalists who died last year were killed by 
Israeli security forces. As of April 23, 2026, at least 258 journalists 
had been killed by Israeli security forces since Hamas' attack on 
Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, journalists have been killed by 
Israel's retaliatory actions in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iran.
  Israel's pattern of targeted killings is not new or unique to 
Palestinian and Lebanese journalists. Shireen Abu Akleh was a 
Palestinian American correspondent for Al-Jazeera. She was fatally shot 
in the head on May 11, 2022, while covering an Israeli Army operation 
in the West Bank. Multiple investigations concluded that she was killed 
by a member of the Israeli Defense Forces. Shortly after, the State 
Department called for an immediate and thorough investigation in 
addition to full accountability. To date, there has been no such 
evidence of an investigation and no accountability.
  Throughout the war in Gaza, Palestinian journalists have been killed 
with impunity--207 Palestinian journalists killed, to date. The world 
witnessed the shocking strikes at Nasser Hospital on August 28, 2025, 
which claimed the lives of 22 people, including five journalists, and 
drew global condemnation. The attack was three successive strikes--a 
tank shell hit the hospital, killing a Reuters cameraman and others. 
Nine minutes later, as health workers and journalists came to the aid 
of the injured, Israeli forces fired two more times.
  Israeli forces have been accused of war crimes for utilizing double-
tap strikes, which target first responders and journalists. On October 
13, 2023, Dylan Collins, an AFP video journalist from Vermont, was 
fired on by Israeli soldiers in a deadly double-tap attack, despite 
wearing clear press insignia. The attack killed Reuters journalists 
Issam Abdallah and wounded several others in the group. Despite 
repeated efforts by myself and my Senate and House colleagues, there 
has been no credible investigation or accountability for Dylan or his 
colleagues.
  Just last week, Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed by an 
Israeli strike. She, too, was clearly identifiable as a member of the 
press. She died after 7 hours of being trapped under rubble. Ambulances 
attempting to deliver medical care were also fired upon. Her case 
reflects a pattern and practice of the use of force that disregards the 
rights and lives of journalists protected under international law.
  These are only a select few of the tragic stories of journalists 
killed for

[[Page S2195]]

simply doing their jobs. While the number of journalists killed in Gaza 
over the past 2 and a half years is overwhelming, journalists have been 
threatened, imprisoned, tortured, and killed in many countries, 
including in our own hemisphere.
  Press freedom is fragile abroad, and fragile here at home. President 
Trump's rhetoric and attacks on the press must be condemned. 
Journalists in the United States have been threatened, attacked, and 
targeted by their own government for doing their jobs: reporting the 
truth.
  We take pride in the First Amendment, and the United States has long 
been seen as a global defender of freedom of expression. But the 
situation is becoming worse, not better. The very concept of 
independence of the media is being challenged. Journalists are 
regularly subjected to ridicule and denied access to the White House 
and the Defense Department for merely asking hard questions.
  Being a journalist is more dangerous today than at any time in 
history. In recognition of World Press Freedom Day, Congress should 
pause to remember the lives of journalists killed while reporting and 
recommit to defending press freedom in our own country and around the 
world.

                          ____________________