Doha:

Qatar-based network Al Jazeera on Sunday condemned as “criminal” a move by the Israeli government to ban the broadcaster from operating over its coverage of the Gaza war.

“We condemn and denounce this criminal act by Israel that violates the human right to access information,” Al Jazeera said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, in Arabic.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday his government had decided unanimously to close the channel.

Al Jazeera has been the focus of months of criticism by Netanyahu and his government in the latest round of a long-running feud that began well before Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said he had issued the order to shutter the channel, confiscate equipment and restrict broadcasting to Al Jazeera’s websites in a separate joint statement with the Israeli premier.

Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, Al Jazeera aired continuous on-the-ground reporting of the effects of Israel’s campaign.

The network’s office in Gaza has been bombed in the conflict and two of its correspondents have been killed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jerusalem:

Israel’s communication minister on Sunday ordered the seizure of Al Jazeera’s broadcasting equipment after the government decided to shut down the Qatar-based news channel in the country, with which it has had a long-running feud.

According to the order issued by Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi, Israel will seize devices “used to deliver the channel’s content”, including editing and routing equipment, cameras, microphones, servers and laptops, as well as wireless transmission equipment and some cell phones.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)