Jerusalem, May 21 (AP) The U.S. on Tuesday privately urged the Israeli prime minister's office to return equipment seized from The Associated Press and to reverse its block on broadcasting images of the war-torn Gaza strip from inside Israel, according to a senior U.S. administration official.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

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The Israeli communications ministry seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to the AP on Tuesday, accusing the news organization of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

The Qatari satellite channel is one of thousands of AP customers, and it receives live video from AP and other news organizations.

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Earlier Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. was “looking into” what happened and that it was “essential” for journalists to be allowed to do their jobs, but she stopped short of condemning Israel's actions.(AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)