ITV taken for a ride around eastern Gaza by murderous IDF

Israeli occupation forces are escorting international journalists around eastern Gaza. But as one ITV report shows, we’re no closer to getting the full story – or any basic context for that matter.

ITV omits the most basic information

Israel has murdered hundreds of Palestinian journalists who have dared to report on its genocide in Gaza. And it has long blocked international journalists from entering the occupied territory. This is despite most mainstream Western media outlets often acting like loyal propagandists for the settler-colonial power anyway.

Israel is letting some journalists tag along with it now. But as a new report from ITV suggests, that may come with some conditions.

Reporter John Irvine showed us some results of Israel’s campaign of mass destruction in Gaza. But rather than making it clear that Israel’s genocide is ongoing, with near-daily murders, Irvine simply called the supposed ceasefire “imperfect”.

That’s not only the understatement of the year so far, but also a dismal failure to provide the most basic of context. Because any responsible report would highlight that Israel has violated the ceasefire over 1,600 times since October 2025, killing more than 615 people in the process.

ITVs John Irvine went into Gaza with the IDF

He tells viewers the peace is imperfect (no mention of the 600+ Palestinians killed by Israel & the near daily attacks by the IDF) & the IDF remains "alert", implying its Palestinians who are responsible

Shameful reporting. pic.twitter.com/pQaaacFA31

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) February 24, 2026

As Al Jazeera has documented, Israel has:

•  Launched “near-daily attacks” on Gaza since 10 October 2025.
• “Shot at civilians 560 times.”
•  Demolished hundreds of properties.
• “Raided residential areas” on dozens of occasions.
• “Bombed and shelled Gaza 749 times.”
• “Continued to block vital humanitarian aid,” allowing in only 43% of the allocated trucks and blocking nutritious items while allowing in non-nutritious food.

The ceasefire is a smokescreen. The genocide continues.

Other journalists, meanwhile, have highlighted how the ceasefire is making little difference in Gaza:

Inside Gaza where the ceasefire isn’t leading to peace or reconstruction. pic.twitter.com/lpGrFzvres

— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) February 24, 2026

NBC reporter Richard Engel said:

We were in the area that is still controlled by the Israeli military. It’s an active military zone. We didn’t see any Palestinians, not one. We saw mountains and mountains of debris, as far as the eye could see. I could just see nothing but rubble. I didn’t see a single building standing. The entire time I was in Gaza, I didn’t see one building intact or standing. Everything was flattened.

He continued:

I’ve covered conflicts and war zones for about 25 years now. And in Iraq, in Somalia even, I’ve never seen this level of destruction. Just blanket destruction everywhere.

Gaza's tented misery has never ended.
A few rain drops are enough to destroy a tent, but THOUSANDS have already been flooded by the current rainy storm, amid a "ceasefire" that should have allowed better sheltering because Israel blocks it. pic.twitter.com/oZTpuPkMav

— Ahmed Al-Najjar (@Ahmed_A1Najjar) February 24, 2026

A father bid farewell to his son after he was killed today by the Israeli military in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, journalist Anas Fteiha reports.

Palestine Online reported the man was killed in Israeli shelling of the area, as daily ceasefire violations continue. https://t.co/QVwl29QLQI pic.twitter.com/bpaJ3yRAWX

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) February 24, 2026

In short, the murder, destruction, and collective punishment never stopped. The genocide is ongoing.

Palestinian poet @MosabAbuToha, who fled Gaza in late 2023, says "it's still a genocide" as Israel continues to block most humanitarian aid from entering the territory while also killing hundreds of people since the start of the U.S.-backed ceasefire. pic.twitter.com/WeJPoOfp3j

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) February 23, 2026

Israeli occupation forces have killed at least 20,000 children in the ongoing genocide. And an independent data study recently said Israel had killed over 75,000 people between October 2023 and January 2025 alone. This is much higher than the conservative figures of Gaza’s authorities for the same period.

Israel previously spread disinformation about the death toll, but now openly accepts it’s accurate.

The ongoing failure of Western media outlets like ITV to provide key context, meanwhile, continues to provide cover for Israel’s war criminals. And it’s an insult to the memory of all the innocent people they have killed and terrorised.

Featured image via the Canary