Israel arrests veteran Palestinian journalist in West Bank

LONDON: At least 15 media workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of 2025, according to a new report released by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

The report, published over the weekend by the syndicate’s freedoms committee, which monitors Israeli violations against journalists, highlighted the continued direct targeting of media workers.

Seven journalists were killed in January and eight in March, the report stated.

In addition, family members of 17 journalists were killed, while 12 reporters’ homes were destroyed by rocket and shell attacks, with 11 injured in the assaults.

The report noted that violence against media crews extended beyond fatal attacks. It documented the arrest of 15 journalists, either at their homes or while on assignment. Some were released within hours or days, while others remain in detention.

The syndicate also recorded 49 death threats issued against journalists, many of whom were warned to evacuate the areas they were covering.

Legal harassment intensified as well, with the report citing over 10 cases in which journalists — mostly from the West Bank-based Al-Quds newspaper — were summoned for interrogation and banned from reporting near Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s Old City.

In the occupied West Bank, approximately 117 journalists faced physical assaults, repression, or reporting bans, particularly in Jenin and Jerusalem. The committee also documented 16 cases of work equipment being confiscated or destroyed.

The violence against journalists comes amid a renewed Israeli military campaign in Gaza following the collapse of a ceasefire deal with Hamas. Israeli forces have intensified their offensive, cutting off vital supplies to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, leaving the enclave on the brink of famine.

Israel’s actions are now the subject of hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where Tel Aviv faces accusations of violating international law by restricting humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The humanitarian toll has been devastating.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 61,700 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 14,000 others are missing and presumed dead, with civilians making up the vast majority of casualties.

Washington-based press watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists, has also raised alarm over the scale of media worker deaths, reporting that at least 176 journalists — almost all Palestinian — have been killed since Israel launched its assault on the Occupied Territories.

LONDON: Tortoise Media is set to publish its first edition of The Observer this weekend, following the formal completion of its acquisition of the 234-year-old Sunday newspaper from Guardian Media Group.

A dedicated Observer website will launch on Friday, with the first in-house print edition under Tortoise’s ownership hitting newsstands on Sunday. The relaunch also marks a return to print for Tortoise founder James Harding, who has formerly been editor of The Times, director of BBC News, and a journalist at the Financial Times.

“The world’s oldest Sunday paper is also going to be the newest. You’ll see the paper will change, but change gradually,” Harding told the Financial Times.

The Observer will become Tortoise Media’s flagship brand, while the Tortoise name will be retained as a sub-brand for long-form investigations and other digital content.

The historic Sunday paper, renowned for its investigative reporting, international coverage, and analysis, has long played a prominent role in covering major global events, including the Middle East. It took a bold editorial stance during the Suez Crisis, when then-editor David Astor criticized the British-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt. It also distinguished itself with coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iraq War — including early exposure of faulty intelligence on weapons of mass destruction — and British complicity in torture during the War on Terror.

The new Observer website will focus on “making sense of the headlines” rather than competing with rolling news outlets like the BBC or The Guardian, Tortoise’s digital editor Basia Cummings said in a recent interview.

“But news, culture and style are the main pillars of our newsroom,” Cummings added, noting that the publication would maintain its “investigative, internationalist” editorial identity, alongside staples such as the Observer New Review, Observer Magazine, and Observer Food Monthly.

The digital offering will include a daily email newsletter and, later this year, a slate of new podcasts. Events and festivals — part of Tortoise’s existing engagement model — are also planned.

The new website is an “initial version.” A full relaunch, including a mobile app and paywall, is expected in the coming months. Until then, content will be free to access as part of a first-party data strategy.

The relaunch comes as Tortoise looks to strengthen its position in the British and international media landscape. According to the Financial Times, British insurance tycoon Sir Clive Cowdery — founder of the Resolution Foundation and publisher of Prospect magazine — has agreed to join the Tortoise board and invest in the venture.

Although Tortoise has incurred financial losses of around £3 million, the company has pledged to invest £25 million into The Observer. Concerns about the financial stability of the loss-making startup have been raised by journalists at both titles, but new funds are expected from backers including South African businessman and Labour Party donor Gary Lubner, and Standard Investments, part of the US-based Standard Industries group.

As part of the deal, the Guardian Media Group’s owner, The Scott Trust, has taken a 9 percent stake in Tortoise, following a £5 million commitment.

“I don’t think that it makes sense for The Observer to be another daily newspaper, just on the seventh day of the week,” Harding said. “We’re not in the business of being a breaking news service; we want to understand what’s driving the news.”