Ian Williams, President of the US Foreign Press Association, told Al Jazeera that Israel’s deliberate targeting of Al Jazeera journalists reveals a systematic effort to control Gaza’s narrative. He condemned Israel’s posthumous smearing of reporters like Al Jazeera’s slain correspondent Anas al-Sharif as “Hamas operatives” – a tactic he compared to McCarthyism, noting over 270 journalists killed. Williams accused Western media executives (not journalists) of complicity through censorship, drawing parallels to historical repression of figures like Nelson Mandela. The veteran correspondent warned Israel’s weaponisation of “terrorist” labels – while itself negotiating with Hamas – mirrors authoritarian strategies from the Spanish Inquisition. He hailed slain Palestinian journalists as martyrs for truth amid Israel’s information blackout. Williams emphasised journalism’s duty to show Israel’s actions, not just parrot its claims, calling Gaza the ultimate test of press freedom. Al Jazeera’s reporting, he stressed, remains vital to breaking this siege on truth.