Free and fair countries: Israel arrests American journalist, US plays deaf

Jeremy Loffredo, an American journalist, has been detained in the occupied West Bank by Israel and reportedly charged with "aiding the enemy during wartime". Lofredo's crime? He reported on the damage suffered by an Israeli airbase in the recent Iranian missile attack, Israeli news portal Ynet said.

His colleagues announced on social media that he was beaten, kidnapped, blindfolded and taken to a military base by Israeli forces on Wednesday along with five other journalists.

Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on October 1, striking several military bases and facilities in response to the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

However, Israel censored any reports of the damage the strikes may have inflicted.

In his last video report from Israel, Loffredo shared footage recorded by Israelis as well as Arab bedouins, allegedly showing the impact of at least ten Iranian missiles at the Nevatim airbase in the Negev.

Loffredo then proceeded to Tel Aviv and discovered an Iranian missile had struck 300 meters from the headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli spy agency.

His X profile has now been locked.

Selective outcry

Brazil-based journalist Glenn Greenwald, highlighting Loffredo’s case and criticising the US "hypocrisy", posted on X that when Russia imprisoned Evan Gershkovich, "the entire corporate media made it their crusade, justifiably, to secure his release. Since it's Israel doing it here to a US journalist, this will be largely ignored."

"I realise many Americans have a deep, overarching, unyielding love for the foreign country of Israel, but Jeremy Loffredo is an American and a journalist (a very good one), being imprisoned with no trial by Israel for his reporting. Maybe he deserves some consideration, too?" he added.

The Grayzone for which Lofferdo worked said in a statement: "We ask the State Department and urge them to act in defence of their citizen detained in Israel. The US must defend its journalists who are merely adhering to their ethical obligation to inform the public of pertinent facts."

Loffredo's colleague took on the US media and said "Israel is detaining and prosecuting an American journalist for doing journalism. Will his media colleagues defend him?"

In January this year, the United Nations had expressed concern over the high number of journalist casualties in targeted Israeli attacks in Gaza.

More recently, Reporters without Borders filed two complaints with the International Criminal Court for alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestinian journalists.

Israel has killed more than 170 journalists and media workers since October 7 last year, according to the Media Office in Gaza.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 128 journalists have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began last October, with the vast majority being Palestinian media professionals in Gaza, who were killed in Israeli air strikes.