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← Censorship and Narrative Control

Israel's Military Censor and the Missile Sites (2025–2026)

Israel has a formal military censor: reporters must submit some security-related material before publishing. During the wars with Iran, Israel tightened control over what the world could see of Iranian strikes on Israel. The sources below are Israeli outlets reporting on their own government.

June 2025​

  • 19 June 2025. JNS reported that Israel Police were sent to halt foreign broadcasts showing where Iranian missiles hit. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir: "This morning in Tel Aviv, there was an incident where equipment was confiscated. There is a clear policy: Al Jazeera endangers state security" (JNS).
  • 20 June 2025. The Jerusalem Post reported a directive from Ben-Gvir and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi: "All foreign journalists who wish to broadcast from Israel during wartime must receive specific written approval from the military censor — not only for the broadcast itself but for the precise location as well" (Jerusalem Post).

March 2026​

An AFP report carried by the Times of Israel said the army "prohibited live broadcasts of city skylines during missile attacks and banned images of interceptions." Brig. Gen. Netanel Kula said the aim was to "prevent assistance to the enemy during wartime" (Times of Israel, 10 March 2026). Observers noticed: "There is effectively a news blackout from Israel," one wrote; "Countries are starting to clamp down on footage of Iranian attacks"; "in comparison to the Ukraine war and how much footage we saw when that started. We're being siloed" (Threads, 3 March 2026).

What it means for Americans​

Israel's stated reason is real: publishing impact points helps an enemy aim. The effect is also real: the American public, whose soldiers and money are in this war, saw a curated picture of what the war was costing Israel and how it was going. An American parent deciding whether a ground war is worth a child's life is doing it partly on images an allied government chose.

Sources​

Status: Itamar Ben-Gvir: Alive. Shlomo Karhi: Alive. Netanel Kula: Alive.

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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