ARIJ’s Executive Editor Hoda Osman was invited by International Media Support (IMS) to speak at the 2025 Folkemødet democracy festival on the Danish island of Bornholm about the Gaza Project investigations into Israel’s targeting of journalists in Gaza, which was led by Forbidden Stories, and the broader challenges journalists there face. 

Osman spoke at two sessions during the festival. The first, on June 11, focused on attacks against journalists, healthcare workers and aid workers. It was moderated by IMS’ Henrik Grunnet and included speakers from Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam.

On June 14, Osman joined IMS Executive Director Jesper Højberg at the festival’s International Arena to talk about the Gaza Project’s findings and the killing of journalists by Israel in Gaza. The Gaza Project trailer was screened and following the conversation with  Højberg, there was a Q&A with attendees on the investigations and the working conditions for journalists in Gaza.

“As I and many others have reiterated again and again, it is far and away the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded,” said Højberg. “Each passing day, it becomes still clearer how Israel’s relentless killings of Gaza’s journalists is a callous strategy to control the narrative and deny Palestinians and the rest of the world access to vital information,” Højberg added in his post about the event.

In Copenhagen, IMS hosted a public event at a local theatre, featuring a conversation between IMS’ Communication Personnel Sune Buch Segal and Osman. Key to the event was participation virtually by Palestinian journalist and writer Mohammed Mhawish, who is from Gaza. His insights, drawn from lived experience and reporting, added essential context to the discussion. “We kept writing after each loss. We kept reporting to preserve both memory and history…we continue to hold the truth in a world that keeps trying to bury it alongside our bodies,” he said.

Mhawish told the audience that the fight to protect journalists and journalism in Gaza is their fight too. “Journalism cannot be free when Palestinian journalism is being haunted. The international media must stop treating us as footnotes or fixers or statistics. We are storytellers and survivors and witnesses and we are your peers.”

Picture from the event

Asked what gives her hope, Osman responded, “Palestinian journalists give me hope.” Osman says when they started working on the second round of the Gaza Project, she knew there would be no accountability as a result of the investigations, as Israel’s impunity when it comes to killing journalists is well-documented. But Palestinian journalists don’t let this stop them from continuing to report. “So I had to continue reporting. I want to honor them by continuing to work.”

Mhawish concluded his remarks by saying that the time for statements has passed, it’s time for action now. “When the last Palestinian journalist is killed, there will be no one left to tell you what was done in the dark.”

During her visit, Osman was interviewed by several Danish outlets, including  Politiken, Information and Journalisten, which published pieces about the journalists in Gaza.

It is worth noting  that IMS has incubated ARIJ since early 2025 and has been one of the strategic partners of the last 20 years.