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WASHINGTON: Several journalists who are outspoken critics of US support for Israel loudly lambasted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the war in Gaza on Thursday, repeatedly interrupting his final press conference as he sought to defend his handling of the 15-month-old conflict.
Israel’s assault on Gaza is likely to define the foreign policy legacy of the outgoing Biden administration, despite a deal reached with Palestinian militant group Hamas on Wednesday on a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages.

“Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague,” shouted Sam Husseini, an independent journalist and longtime critic of Washington’s approach to the world. The Hague is where the International Criminal Court is located.
The unusually confrontational scene in the State Department briefing room only ended when security personnel forcibly picked up Husseini and carried him out of the room as he continued to heckle Blinken.
Blinken has faced criticism for providing Israel with weapons and diplomatic support since the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also drawing accusations of genocide in a World Court case brought by South Africa and of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the allegations. The assault has displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and drawn the concern of the world’s main hunger monitor.
“Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?” Max Blumenthal, editor of the Grayzone, an outlet that strongly criticizes many aspects of US foreign policy, called out to Blinken, before he was escorted out.
Blinken, who leaves office on Monday when the administration of President-elect Donald Trump takes over, calmly asked for quiet while he delivered his remarks, and later took questions from reporters.
He has been frequently heckled at appearances in Washington since the Gaza conflict began. Demonstrators camped outside his Virginia home for months and repeatedly threw red paint — resembling blood — on cars carrying Blinken and his family.
Asked during the press conference if he would change anything about his dealings with Israel, Blinken said the Israeli government had carried out policies that “were basically supported by an overwhelming majority of Israelis after the trauma of October 7” and said that had to be factored in to the US response.
The Biden administration had been unable to reach final determinations on individual incidents that could constitute violations of international law because Hamas embedded itself within the civilian population, he said.
“I’d also point out that in Israel itself, there are hundreds of cases that are being investigated,” Blinken said. “They have a process, they have procedures, they have rule of law... That’s the hallmark of any democracy.”

LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday night welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached in Gaza and called on authorities to grant full access to journalists and independent human rights experts to investigate crimes against the media during the 15-month conflict.

“Journalists have been paying the highest price — with their lives — to provide the world some insight into the horrors that have been taking place in Gaza during this prolonged war, which has decimated a generation of Palestinian reporters and newsrooms,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg in New York.

“We call on Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli authorities to immediately allow foreign journalists into Gaza, and on the international community to independently investigate the deliberate targeting of journalists that has been widely documented since October 2023.”

The ceasefire was announced on Wednesday by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, who mediated the deal. The agreement includes a halt to hostilities and the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Sheikh Al-Thani expressed hope that the deal would pave the way for a permanent resolution to the conflict, which has killed nearly 47,000 people — most of them Palestinians — and displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday warned of a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas, delaying Israel’s approval of the agreement.

Despite this, all parties remain cautiously optimistic that the ceasefire will take effect as planned on Sunday.

Over the course of the war, Israel has faced heavy criticism, including from its closest ally, the US, over the devastating civilian toll in Gaza and restrictions on aid deliveries of water, medicine and other essentials.

Israel also imposed a near-total ban on international journalists entering Gaza, forcing global news outlets to rely on local reporters working under extreme duress and facing targeted attacks.

Tel Aviv has frequently dismissed these reports as biased, accusing journalists of being affiliated with militant groups, often without providing sufficient evidence.

Since October 2023, CPJ has documented at least 165 journalists and media workers killed, 49 injured, two missing, and 75 arrested, alongside numerous other press freedom violations in Gaza and neighboring regions.

The watchdog has classified the deliberate targeting of at least 11 journalists and two media workers by Israeli forces as murder, which constitutes a war crime under international law.

CPJ is also investigating an additional 20 cases where evidence suggests deliberate targeting of journalists, their homes, and media outlets in Gaza.