In 2023, the far-right Channel 14 became the second-most watched TV channel in Israel, following Channel 12, according to the independent research centre The Israel Democracy Institute. Ynet is the most read news site in the country, and the daily newspaper Haaretz has considerable influence despite limited readership and the pressures its journalists face. Other dailies that compete in the print media include Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel Hayom (Israel Today). Faced with poor representation of certain segments of Israel’s population in the media, outlets catering to the Arabic and Russian-speaking audiences, and the Orthodox Jewish community have emerged.

Politicians have significant influence over appointments to the broadcasting regulatory bodies. Since 2021, only journalists working for Channel 14, a media outlet that covers Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a favourable light, have been granted interviews with the country’s leader, who accuses the Israeli press of conspiring against him. In 2024, the Minister of Communication called on the government to boycott Haaretz, one of the few newspapers to criticise Netanyahu's policies, including the massacre of civilians in Gaza — a topic that is largely suppressed. Only journalists embedded with the IDF are allowed to enter the strip.

Under Israeli military censorship, reporting on various security issues requires prior approval by the authorities. In 2023, Parliament passed an amendment to the anti-terrorism law that punishes those who “systematically and continuously consume terrorist publications” or who broadcast  “a direct call to commit an act of terrorism.” Its broad interpretation is intended to ban media outlets deemed unfavourable, a goal that was reinforced with a 2024 law allowing for a ban on foreign media considered threats to state security.

Most of Israel’s media outlets are owned by large corporations or magnates who are difficult to investigate and who use them to pressure regulators and elected officials. A series of major reform proposals introduced in 2024 by the Minister of Communication aim to privatise — and even shut down — the public radio broadcasting service and assert political control over the regulatory bodies that oversee private broadcast media.

Journalists identified as Arab face more intimidation while working and foreign journalists are experiencing increasing difficulty obtaining accreditation. Since the start of the war in Gaza, the authorities have intensified repression against journalists, especially against foreign and Israeli journalists whose coverage of the war deviates from the government’s narrative. A harsh nationalist discourse regularly dominates media coverage, drawing out diverse viewpoints in the overall coverage of the conflict.

Since 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 220 journalists in the Gaza Strip – including at least 70 as a result of their work – and slain reporters in Lebanon as well. Israeli prisons are holding a significant number of Palestinian journalists who were arrested in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Crackdowns on Israeli journalists covering anti-government protests have intensified, while an increasingly nationalised media discourse is pressuring journalists critical of the authorities to self-censor. Online smear campaigns and propaganda aimed at discrediting the media and journalists are not uncommon.