Episode 1

Understanding the Targeting of Journalists in Gaza

Published on: 17th March, 2026

Targeting journalists doesn’t only have a devastating impact on individuals, communities, and the possibility of justice. It also limits what we know about conflicts. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Gaza right now.

In this episode, we explore the overwhelming obstacles that journalists in Gaza face, why they are being targeted, and what we can do to increase the accuracy of information in the region.

Mohammed R. Mhawish is a journalist and writer, born and raised in Gaza. He has covered his homeland for the New Yorker, MSNBC, The Nation, Al Jazeera, +972 Magazine, The Economist, and more. He left Gaza in 2024, and is currently based in the U.S.

  1. Follow Mohammed’s Substack at: https://www.mohammedmhawish.com
  2. His latest writing for the New Yorker can be found at: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/mohammed-r-mhawish
  3. His Al Jazeera article “When Israeli soldiers shot at hungry Palestinians” can be found here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/3/5/the-blood-was-everywhere-inside-israels-flour-massacre-in-gaza

Sara Qudah is Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. The organization defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. She was a journalist for 15 years, starting her career in the Middle East. Sara is currently based in Paris.

  1. Learn more about the Committee to Protect Journalists at https://cpj.org/.
  2. Follow Sara on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-qudah/

Disrupting Peace is a production of the World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung.

Special thanks to Lisa Avery and Alex de Waal, and the Tufts Digital Design Studio team.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.

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About the Podcast

Disrupting Peace
Disrupting Peace explores why peace hasn’t worked, and how it still could. In each episode, Bridget Conley, research director at the World Peace Foundation, speaks with a researcher specializing in one obstacle to peace, and an activist who’s changing systems from the ground up. Together they explore what worked, what didn’t, and why we shouldn’t give up.

About your host

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Bridget Conley

Bridget Conley is Research Director at the World Peace Foundation (WPF) and an Associate Research Professor at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. She leads WPF’s research programs on atrocity response and incarceration. She works closely with the Executive Director on project development, fundraising and strategic vision for WPF. Currently, her primary research focus concerns the implications of American mass incarceration for local, national and international policies.