The scene of an apartment building destroyed by an Iranian ballistic missile impact, in Bat Yam in the occupied territories, on June 15, 2025 (Photo by Israeli media)
A renowned Israeli journalist and political commentator has shed light on the high level of censorship by the Israeli regime in the recent 12-day war of aggression against the Islamic Republic, stressing that the Israeli police threatened and prevented him from filming at sites targeted by Iranian drones and missiles.
Raviv Drucker of Israel’s Channel 13 said on a TV program that the Israeli Military Censor, an intelligence unit in the Israeli military tasked with conducting preventive censorship inside the occupied territories, had become a tool in the hands of the Tel Aviv regime for distorting facts.
Drucker stressed that in one case he had been barred by Israeli police officers from filming the extent of damage caused by the Iranian strikes, saying, “When I showed them my press card, they lowered their voices, but said, ‘Filming is forbidden here, [Israeli Military] Censor does not approve of it.’”
The Israeli journalist said that after he had read an article in The Telegraph about five military bases targeted by Iranian missiles during the war, he realized that one of them was the very base he had seen with his own eyes.
“Censorship is not imposed for security reasons, but to protect the illusion of victory. The goal is not to prevent information from reaching Iranians, because they know exactly where they have targeted; rather, the goal is to prevent Israelis from knowing the extent of the damage we have suffered,” Drucker said.
“Censorship here does not protect human lives, but rather narratives, and in this situation, a serious question arises: Should journalists comply? Are we still the gatekeepers of information or silent partners? We are afraid of being labeled unpatriotic, so we prefer to be partners in lies. This censorship insists on hiding things that are completely clear to anyone via access to the Internet.”
The Israeli political commentator underlined that censorship would not hide information that might jeopardize the regime’s future operations, but would rather conceal the failures that have already occurred.
“[Israeli Military] Censor itself knows that its historical role has changed. Previously, it protected the lives of soldiers, but now it protects the reputations of politicians. In the past, it concealed secrets; now, it conceals things that have been shot by satellite, published on Twitter, and analyzed on Telegram,” Drucker said.
“This is no longer about protecting security, but about propaganda. We can still call it Israeli Military Censor, but between us, it is just another WhatsApp group to which the prime minister’s office sends its orders.”
