Marseille, France – The professional photographers and videographers working in Gaza will receive the 2026 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom award of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), on 1 June during the opening day of the 2026 World News Media Congress in Marseille, France.
The award acknowledges the sacrifice and endurance of local Palestinian media professionals living and working in a war zone, as well as recognising colleagues who have been injured or killed in the course of doing their job.
“For over two and a half years, journalists in Gaza have recorded death, destruction, and human suffering in unparalleled terms,” reads the award citation. “They are as much victims of the conflict as they are chroniclers of a war that erupted and continues around them.” 
Since the outbreak of war following the deadly Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, which resulted in the largest loss of life in a single atrocity in the history of Israel, over 260 journalists have been killed, the vast majority in Gaza. Research by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that at least 64 of these journalists were deliberately targeted by Israeli military forces, an act considered a war crime under international law. So far, limited official investigations have failed to deliver justice to the families or colleagues of those killed.
Foreign media have largely been prevented from entering Gaza unless under strict Israeli military supervision, leaving Palestinian journalists to carry the full burden of reporting the impact of the war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis.
David Walmsley, editor-in-chief of Canada’s Globe and Mail and president of the World Editors Forum, who will present the award, said: “There is no replacing brave, independent journalism. And there can be no replacement for journalists who day in, day out get the images out, often at appalling costs. The photo and video journalists of Gaza brought the world’s attention to a story that would otherwise have been suppressed.”
The award citation further states that wider understanding of the war “has been shaped by reliance on their sacrifice, dedication, and professionalism in desperate circumstances. Their work has fuelled coverage of the devastation of Gaza and its people that has reached around the globe; their documentation will remain a visual testimony.”
The award will be received by representatives of the three main international news agencies operating in Gaza, namely Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press and Reuters, whose local journalists continue to provide consistent, professional coverage under extremely challenging conditions.
As part of the award presentation, WAN-IFRA will host an exclusive exhibition at the Congress showcasing award-winning photographers whose work has shaped global understanding of the war. The exhibition is a collaboration between AFP, AP and Reuters.
The Congress programme will also feature a special screening of the award-winning documentary ‘Inside Gaza’ on Tuesday, 2 June, followed by a discussion on lessons learned from the crisis for newsrooms worldwide. The film, directed by Hélène Lam Trong, follows AFP’s team of Palestinian journalists in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks and offers a rare insider’s view of the challenges of reporting from Gaza during the war.
WAN-IFRA’s Media Freedom division has also been running a Social Impact Reporting Initiative (SIRI) in Gaza, implemented in partnership with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) and supported by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The initiative focuses specifically on freelance women journalists, who have become the backbone of reporting in Gaza. Since 2024, 60 freelance women journalists have been supported through reporting grants, editorial mentorship, gender-sensitive storytelling training and access to safe workspaces. A current round of SIRI Gaza is underway, supporting an additional 30 freelance women journalists.
The Golden Pen of Freedom has been awarded annually since 1961 and recognises individuals or organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the defence and promotion of press freedom. The only previous Palestinian laureate was political cartoonist Naji al-Ali, awarded posthumously in 1988.
