NEW | Six U.S. press freedom organizations, including Defending Rights & Dissent, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and PEN America, have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to publicly condemn Israel’s detention of three American journalists:

Alex Colston and Noa Avishag Schnall of Drop Site News, and Emily Wilder of Jewish Currents.

The reporters were abducted from The Global Sumud Flotilla and The Freedom Flotilla Coalition and held at Ketziot prison.

The groups criticized the State Department for remaining silent. They also condemned Ambassador Mike Huckabee for publicly attacking members of Congress advocating for the detained journalists, calling his social media posts “partisan attacks unbecoming of an ambassador.”

The organizations called on Washington to hold Israel accountable and leverage its influence to ensure international journalists can access Gaza freely.

Scenes from Al-Saha Market in Gaza City shows a gradual return to daily life, with residents returning to shop and vendors reopening their stalls after two years of devastation caused by the Israeli assault.