Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza have been awarded a prize celebrating press freedom, the UN's cultural and scientific body UNESCO announced.
The journalists were awarded the 2024 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on Thursday evening in Chile.
"In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances," jury chair Mauricio Weibel said.
"As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression."
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said the award paid tribute to the courage of journalists in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
"Once again this year, the Prize reminds us of the importance of collective action to ensure that journalists around the world can continue to carry out their essential work to inform and investigate."
According to New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 97 journalists and media workers are among the more than 35,000 killed since the war began on October 7, with more than 34,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel.
As of May 1, a further 16 journalists were reported injured, four were missing and 25 had been arrested, CPJ said.