A record number of journalists were killed around the world last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday, adding that Israel was responsible for nearly 70 per cent of those killed, Reuters has reported.
At least 124 journalists in 18 countries were killed in 2024, the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since the committee started recording the numbers more than three decades ago, explained the CPJ.
It pointed out that Israel’s offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza has accounted for the deaths of 85 journalists at the hands of the Israeli military. The organisation 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. Palestinians sources, however, put that total at 205 journalists killed in Gaza between 7 October 2023 and mid-January 2025.
The Israeli military, when asked for comment, said that not enough information was provided on the alleged incidents and that it was therefore not able to check them, adding that it takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to journalists and civilians. “The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists,” it claimed.
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 the CPJ. The previous record high was in 2007, when 113 journalists lost their lives, almost half due to the Iraq War, said the committee.
Sudan and Pakistan had the second-highest number of journalists killed last year, the committee said.
“Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in the CPJ’s history,” said CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms on protecting journalists in conflict zones, but it is far from the only place journalists are in danger.”
CPJ said it had documented an “alarming rise in the number of targeted killings,” adding that at least 24 journalists were deliberately killed because of their work last year, including in Haiti, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan and elsewhere. It said that it had documented at least 10 cases of targeted killings by Israel.
The committee said it is also investigating 20 other killings in which it believes Israel may have specifically targeted journalists.
At least six journalists and media workers have been killed so far in 2025, added the committee.
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