Watchdog: Israel behind most reporter deaths in 2024; IDF: Many were terror operatives
Jerusalem responsible for 85 of record-setting 124 journalists killed last year, Committee to Protect Journalists claims; IDF rejects accusation, says it doesn’t target journalists
Last year was the deadliest for journalists in recent history, with at least 124 reporters killed — and Israel responsible for nearly 70 percent of that total, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) claimed Wednesday.
Shortly after the report was released, the Israel Defense Forces responded by insisting that it does not intentionally target journalists in the Gaza Strip, while noting that many on the list are members of terror groups.
The uptick in killings, which marks a 22% increase over 2023, reflects “surging levels of international conflict, political unrest and criminality worldwide,” the CPJ said.
It was the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since CPJ began keeping records more than three decades ago, with journalists murdered across 18 different countries, it said.
A total of 85 journalists died in the Hamas-instigated Gaza war, “all at the hands of the Israeli military,” the CPJ charged, adding that 82 of them were Palestinians.
CPJ accused Israel of attempting to stifle investigations of incidents, shift blame onto journalists, and ignore its duty to hold people to account for the killings.
“The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms on protecting journalists,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement.
The Israeli military rejected the report.
“The IDF takes all possible measures to minimize harm to civilians, including journalists. The IDF has never, and never will, intentionally target journalists,” the military said in response to a query by The Times of Israel.
“In light of the ongoing exchange of fire, being in an active combat zone carries risks. The IDF will continue to combat threats while making an ongoing effort to minimize harm to civilians. The IDF only directs its attacks toward military targets and militants and does not attack civilian sites or civilians, including media and journalists,” the statement continued.
“Under international humanitarian law, a member of an organized armed group [such as the military wing of Hamas], or a person directly participating in hostilities, is considered a lawful target. As it seems, many on the published list include members of the military wing of Hamas and are therefore lawful targets under international law,” the IDF added.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas following its October 2023 onslaught in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and 251 taken hostage. Hamas is still holding 73 of the hostages, and its leaders have vowed to repeat the October 7 slaughter and destroy Israel.
More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed 21,000 Hamas fighters since the war began.
The number of journalists and media workers killed in 2024 is up sharply over recent years — 102 were killed in 2023, and 69 were killed in 2022, according to CPJ. The previous record high of deaths was in 2007, when 113 journalists lost their lives, almost half due to the Iraq War, said the committee.
Sudan and Pakistan recorded the second-highest number of journalists and media workers killed in 2024, with six each.
In Mexico, which has a reputation as one of the most dangerous countries for reporters, five were killed, with CPJ reporting it had found “persistent flaws” in Mexico’s mechanisms for protecting journalists.
And in Haiti, where two reporters were murdered, widespread violence and political instability have sown so much chaos that “gangs now openly claim responsibility for journalist killings,” the report said.
Other deaths took place in countries such as Myanmar, Mozambique, India and Iraq.
“Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in CPJ’s history,” said Ginsberg.
CPJ, which has kept records on journalist killings since 1992, said that 24 of the reporters were deliberately killed because of their work in 2024.
Freelancers, the report said, were among the most vulnerable because of their lack of resources, and accounted for 43 of the killings in 2024.
The year 2025 is not looking more promising, with six journalists already killed in the first weeks of the year, CPJ said.
