Mourners are seen at the funeral of Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abu Hatab killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters file)

An organization representing journalists working for international media outlets reporting from Israel and the Palestinian territories says the Israeli regime must grant foreign journalists entry into Gaza, ahead of a court hearing.

"For over two years, Israel has blocked foreign reporters from going into the territory, greatly hindering the media`s ability to cover this devastating conflict," the Foreign Press Association (FPA) said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Israel`s high court is scheduled to hear the FPA`s petition demanding immediate access for journalists to Gaza.

"We are pleased to finally have our day in court and hope the justices will swiftly approve our request to enter Gaza," Tania Kraemer, chairperson of the FPA, said in the statement.

"It is high time for Israel to lift the closure and let us do our work alongside our Palestinian colleagues."

Since it launched the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Israel has prevented foreign journalists from entering the devastated territory, allowing only a handful of reporters inside on tightly controlled visits alongside its forces.

Soon after the war broke out, the FPA began petitioning for independent access to Gaza.

‘Not justified`

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has joined the petition filed by the FPA.

Antoine Bernard, RSF`s director for advocacy and assistance, said on Tuesday that while Israel has denied foreign reporters entry into Gaza, its forces have killed more than 210 Palestinian journalists in the besieged Palestinian territory.

"The result is an unprecedented violation of press freedom and the public`s right to reliable, independent, and pluralistic media reporting," Bernard said.

"The Supreme Court has the opportunity to finally uphold basic democratic principles in the face of widespread propaganda, disinformation, and censorship, and to end two years of meticulous and unrestrained destruction of journalism in and about Gaza.

"No excuse, no restriction can justify not opening Gaza to international, Israeli and Palestinian media," he said.

Israel has so far killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians since launching the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, before a ceasefire deal was reached in the strip earlier in October.