Italian Journalist Fired After Questioning Israel’s Role in Gaza Reconstruction

An Italian journalist has been dismissed from his post after posing a question about Israel’s responsibility for Gaza’s reconstruction during a European Commission press briefing.

On October 13, at a press conference in Brussels, Gabriele Nunziati, a Brussels correspondent for the Agenzia Nova news agency, asked EC spokesperson Paula Pinho whether Israel should contribute to rebuilding Gaza, similar to calls for Russia to pay for reconstruction in Ukraine. Pinho did not provide a direct answer to the query. The question coincided with a US-brokered hostage exchange in which Hamas released 20 prisoners and Israel freed around 2,000 Palestinian detainees.

Following the briefing, Nunziati received several phone calls from Agenzia Nova between October 15 and 23. The agency reportedly considered his question “inappropriate” and “technically inaccurate,” viewing it as an inconvenience. On October 27, Nunziati was informed that his collaboration with the agency had been terminated. The dismissal notice provided no specific reason.

The move drew condemnation from press organizations. The International and European Federations of Journalists criticized Agenzia Nova for effectively censoring Nunziati, limiting his ability to perform his duties freely. The National Federation of the Italian Press described the firing as unacceptable, emphasizing that a question, however inconvenient, should not cost a journalist their job. Similarly, the National Council of the Italian Journalists’ Association called for his immediate reinstatement, underlining that the journalist’s role is to pose questions that may be unwelcome or challenging.