Tel Aviv, Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his government has decided to shut down the Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera in an unprecedented crackdown on press freedom.

The government "unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel," Netanyahu said on X.

"There will be no freedom of speech for the Hamas trumpets in Israel," Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said in a separate joint statement with Netanyahu.

"Al Jazeera will be closed immediately and the equipment will be confiscated."

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Karhi issued an order to seize devices "used to deliver the channel's content", including editing and routing equipment, cameras, microphones, servers and laptops, as well as wireless transmission equipment and some cell phones.

Walid Al-Omari, head of Al Jazeera's offices in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, reacted to the decision by saying it followed "a campaign in search of easy victories by ministers on (Israel's) extreme right."

He said the broadcaster had been informed of the "closure of the offices of Al Jazeera Channel operating within the borders of Israel", and the confiscation of its broadcasting devices.

The broadcasting to Al Jazeera's websites would also be restricted, he said, adding that the curbs would not legally apply to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Neither will it apply to the Gaza Strip, from where Al Jazeera still broadcasts live on Israel's months-long assault.

Sunday's decision comes after Israel's parliament last month overwhelmingly passed a new national security law granting top ministers the power to ban broadcasts by foreign channels deemed a national security threat and to shut their offices.

Shortly after that law passed, Netanyahu singled out Al Jazeera, a network that Israel has repeatedly targeted due to its critical stance.

In 2022, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Shireen Abu Akleh, a prominent Palestinian-American journalist reporting for Al Jazeera in the West Bank.

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Since the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel's retaliation has killed least 97 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, marking "the deadliest period for journalists" since 1992 when the group began gathering data.

Among them are an Al Jazeera staff journalist and a freelancer killed in an air strike, while the outlet's Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh – who has lost multiple family members to Israeli bombardments – was forced to leave the strip after being severely injured.