Piers Morgan urges Benjamin Netanyahu to let journalists into Gaza to ‘establish the truth’

British broadcaster criticises Israel's media blackout in enclave and calls for greater access amid war crimes allegations

British broadcaster Piers Morgan has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow international journalists into Gaza, saying the lack of access has made it impossible to verify the scale of destruction and human suffering.

At the Arab Media Summit in Dubai, Morgan described Israel’s refusal to grant access to foreign media as “a complete disgrace” and said it made it “incredibly difficult” to obtain the facts about the war.

“Facts should be sacred,” he said during a conversation with Mina Al-Oraibi, editor in chief of The National. “We live in a very strange world where people talk about ‘my truth’. You can’t have your own truth. There is the truth.

“My firm message to Prime Minister Netanyahu: let the journalists in."

British broadcaster Piers Morgan speaks to Mina Al-Oraibi of The National at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

He said Israel was “pretending it’s because of our safety – please, we’re not stupid".

"Let the international journalists in, and then we can work out whether what Israel is saying is correct. My suspicion is it’s not," he added.

Morgan said his talk show Uncensored became “a fulcrum for the big debates” around the Gaza war after a viral appearance by Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef. “It got 22 million views on YouTube,” Morgan said. “We realised then that this was going to be a massive story.”

He pushed back against criticism that he had been too sympathetic to Israel in the early days of the conflict. “I’ve had a lot of people in the Arab world criticise me for being too pro-Israeli. I would take issue with that,” he said.

“I’ve always had Palestinian-supporting guests on – probably more than any show of the kind that I do."

Piers Morgan said facts were 'sacred' during the discussion at the Arab Media Summit. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Morgan said he “always tried to be firm and fair" when discussing the war, but “what has been happening in recent weeks and months, especially since this [aid] blockade and the ferocious bombardments, has crossed the line. There are now two former Israeli prime ministers who are condemning what Israel is doing as war crimes.”

Morgan also delivered a broader warning about the erosion of journalistic standards and the growing influence of unverified voices online. He said the rise of fake news, particularly deepfakes powered by artificial intelligence, was eroding public trust.

He emphasised the importance of investing in trained journalists who can separate truth from misinformation in a digital age where everyone is a publisher, but not everyone is accountable.

“I’ve seen videos of me, using my face and voice, saying the exact opposite of what I actually believe,” he said. “That becomes really damaging to a society.”