By Committee To Protect Journalists
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
More journalists have been killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year, according to CPJ data. By December 31, at least 77 journalists and media workers had been killed since the October 7 start of the conflict. Of those 77, 70 were Palestinian, four Israeli, and three Lebanese.
CPJ is particularly concerned about an apparent pattern of targeting journalists and their families by the Israeli military. In at least one case, a journalist was killed while clearly wearing press insignia in a location where no fighting was taking place. In at least two other cases, journalists reported receiving threats from Israeli officials and IDF officers before their family members were killed.
“The concentration of journalists killed in the Israel-Gaza war is unparalleled in CPJ’s history and underscores how grave the situation is for press on the ground,” said CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg.
The Israel-Gaza war deaths have taken place against a backdrop of growing censorship of media in the region, including at least 21 arrests as well as physical and online harassment of journalists. Media facilities have also been damaged or destroyed.
Repeated communications blackouts and a lack of fuel, food, and housing due to the bombardment and limited humanitarian assistance has severely stifled reporting in Gaza, where international journalists have had almost no independent access for most of the war.
CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour described the war as the most dangerous situation for journalists we have ever seen. “The Israeli army has killed more journalists in 10 weeks than any other army or entity has in any single year. And with every journalist killed, the war becomes harder to document and to understand,” said Mansour.
CPJ’s report on this data is accompanied by a series of calls to Israel and the international community on how to protect the safety of journalists.
In May, CPJ published “Deadly Pattern,” a report that found members of the Israel Defense Forces had killed at least 20 journalists over the past 22 years and that no one had ever been charged or held accountable for their deaths.
