Israel shuts down Al Jazeera, raids offices

Israel’s cabinet has voted to shut down the offices of the Al Jazeera network operating in the country with immediate effect.

According to Israel’s Communications Minister, Shlomo Karhi, a raid was also conducted on Al Jazeera’s office in occupied East Jerusalem.

“The government, headed by me, unanimously decided: The incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” posted the country’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu on X.

In response to recent developments, Al Jazeera took to social media to vehemently denounce the situation. In a post, the channel expressed outrage, highlighting Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press as a deliberate attempt to obscure its actions in the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera has been threatened by Israeli government officials multiple times and sanctioned in the past in efforts to prevent the channel from reporting from the occupied Palestinian territory.

Several of its journalists were killed and wounded by Israeli forces in the past. Walid Omary, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, says there have been more than 50 attacks against Al Jazeera journalists since October 7.

Al Jazeera remains the only major broadcaster to report live from Gaza, which has been flattened by Israeli bombing since October 7. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed so far.