and Japan have also signed the text released by the Media Freedom Coalition - an intergovernmental group which advocates for the rights and protection of journalists globally. The statement also condemned attacks on journalists, saying those working in Gaza must be protected. International journalists have been banned by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip independently since the start of the war nearly two years ago. Some journalists have been taken into Gaza by the IDF under controlled access.

At least 192 journalists and media workers, the vast majority of them Palestinian, have been killed since then in the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Thursday's statement, the first of its kind to be made jointly by countries, says their call is in light of "the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe", adding they "oppose all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists". It says that "deliberate targeting of journalists" is unacceptable, calling for all attacks to be investigated and followed up by prosecutions.

The latest such attack occurred earlier this month when four Al Jazeera journalists, including prominent reporter Anas al-Sharif, were killed in a targeted Israeli strike near Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital. Sharif and another correspondent, Mohammed Qreiqeh, along with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, were in a tent for journalists at the hospital's main gate when it was struck, the broadcaster said at the time. (BBC)