Mohamed Abdel Dayem, coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa program of the Committee to Protect Journalists, declined to speculate on Israel's motivation but said it was important to have reporters present during fighting.
"There is a need for journalists to be on the ground to document the news stories, and frankly to monitor the behavior of all belligerent parties, whether it is Hamas or the Israeli army," he said. "The presence of the media in any place where war is raging has helped keep violations under check."
Reporters who cannot enter Gaza devote much of their time reporting on rocket attacks by Palestinian militants and filming the damage caused on the Israeli side of the line, or filming Gaza from distant vantage points inside Israel.
Hesna Al Ghaoui, a correspondent for Hungarian television, was reduced to filming her cameraman change a flat tire on their rented car inside Israel, footage she said she would use in a report on how she covered the war. She said she had applied "many times" to enter Gaza.
"I have been reporting from many wars and conflicts, but I have never met such frustration," she said.
In the buildup to its air assault on Gaza, Israel sealed the border to all but the most vital supplies. The only people allowed in or out were urgent medical cases and a few humanitarian workers. Restrictions were further tightened after the air bombardment began.
The Foreign Press Association appealed the ban to the Supreme Court. Without making a final ruling, the court suggested a compromise of sending in a handful of reporters to act as a "pool," sharing their reports with other foreign media.
"We want to honor that decision," army spokesman Doron Spielman said, but he added it would be done only in a way that would not compromise military operations or endanger journalists.
Hamas officials went into hiding after the bombing campaign began and were unavailable for comment. But Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas spokesman, said before the fighting erupted that the ban on journalists was part of an Israeli policy of isolating Gaza internationally.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
