A rescue personnel works at an impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Rishon LeZion, Israel, June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Knesset member Azmi Bishara fled Israel dramatically in 2007 to avoid prosecution for accepting payment in exchange for giving Hezbollah information about strategic locations in Israel to target during the previous year’s Second Lebanon War.

Bishara was caught advising the Iranian-backed terror group on how to aim its rockets more accurately to hit substantial targets in the very country where he served as a member of parliament.

Eighteen years later, no Bishara is needed.

Today, if Iran’s leaders want to assess the effectiveness of their attacks, all they have to do is turn on the television or go online. Since Iranian-backed Hamas launched the current war against Israel with its October 7, 2023, massacre, media outlets have repeatedly abetted Israel’s enemies by reporting from the scenes of attacks.

That violation of decades-old Israeli military censorship policies has only intensified during Iran’s current wave of strikes on Israeli military and civilian targets.

It began on Saturday, when Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst revealed live on air that Hamas had hit a Tel Aviv apartment building near the Kirya military base, which he described as “Israel’s version of the Pentagon.”

After a warning from the Government Press Office, Yingst became more cautious, reporting more generally from “central Israel.”

The Atlantic’s Jeff Goldberg had the decency to wait before publishing his exclusive on the US military op against the Houthis, in order not to risk American lives.@TreyYingst exposed realtime intel to the Iranian regime, putting Israeli lives in jeopardy, just for his scoop. https://t.co/klRM3FDVeS

— Simon Plosker (@SimonPlosker) June 14, 2025

Then, on Sunday, a group of cameramen broadcast for well over an hour from the power plant at the Haifa oil refinery — another highly sensitive site that had been struck by an Iranian ballistic missile. Al Jazeera used the footage.

When police approached the cameramen, it turned out they weren’t actually working for Al Jazeera. As a result, their equipment could not legally be confiscated, due to a law passed last year that bans the Qatari state-run propaganda outlet from operating in Israel. Al Jazeera has used freelancers to circumvent the ban, staying one step ahead of Israeli legislators in a game of cat and mouse.

But the cameramen, like all journalists in Israel, are still bound by military censorship laws that prohibit the publication of sensitive security information that could aid Israel’s enemies or endanger civilians.

“It has come to our attention that certain members of the press are filming sensitive and restricted areas following missile impacts, despite clear and repeated instructions from law enforcement officers on site, as well as prior directives issued by the Military Censor,” read a police statement released in English. “Such actions are both unlawful and irresponsible. They endanger public safety, disrupt emergency operations, and may unintentionally assist hostile actors.”

Police emphasized that the guidelines issued to the media are legally binding and intended to protect lives, preserve operational security, and ensure coordinated emergency response.

“We call on all journalists and media outlets to demonstrate responsibility and uphold the law,” the statement continued. “Those who choose to violate these restrictions will be held fully accountable in accordance with the law.”

The laws were reiterated in a letter sent to the Foreign Press Association on Monday.

Censorship remains unpopular in democratic societies. It is seen as a violation of free speech and a relic of a bygone era. Israel’s censorship law was enacted in 1966, when the country was smaller and media outlets operated under very different conditions.

But the policy remains in place because it saves lives. That’s especially true now, in the midst of a high-stakes Israeli operation aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons and fulfilling its goal of annihilating the Jewish State.

On Monday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote to S., the new interim head of the Shin Bet security service, urging action against media outlets that violate censorship laws and pledging police assistance.

If the controversial Ben-Gvir, who has taken an uncharacteristically low profile in the current fight against Iran, moves to have a journalist arrested, it would almost certainly draw negative coverage. Israel has already been condemned internationally for bombing the headquarters of IRIB, the Iranian regime’s state broadcaster.

That strike occurred while anchorwoman Sahar Emami was live on air, pointing her finger at what she called “Iran’s aggressors.”

Moment Israel’s air strike hit Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB. Iranian presenter Sahar Emami was on air when one of the studios got hit.

The attack followed an evacuation warning issued by Israel for Tehran’s upscale District 3, a densely populated area. pic.twitter.com/zuJx2tC7qI

— Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) June 16, 2025

The IDF responded by stating that the communications center was being used for military purposes by the Iranian regime, and that the strike took place an hour after Israel issued a warning to evacuate the area of Tehran where the station is located.

But the strike had further justification. IRIB, along with its English-language counterpart Press TV, serves as the propaganda arm of the Iranian regime. It disseminates disinformation, suppresses domestic dissent, and incites attacks against Israel by Iran and its proxies.

These broadcasters are an integral part of the Iranian war machine, just as Hitler’s propagandists were during World War II.

The global battle over the narrative will determine the outcome of this war, just as much as what unfolds on its seven military fronts.

And on both the military and media battlefields, Israel cannot afford to lose.

The author is the Executive Director of HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.