Image used for representation
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphotos

Washington:

A record number of journalists was killed around the world last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday, adding that Israel was responsible for nearly 70% of the deaths.

At least 124 journalists in 18 countries died in 2024, the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since the committee started recording the numbers more than three decades ago, the CPJ said in a statement.

CPJ said the Israel-Gaza war has accounted for the deaths of 85 journalists at the hands of the Israeli military, and 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 Israeli military, when asked for comment, said 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 said.

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 deaths were 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 CPJ’s history,” CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in the statement.

“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 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.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas for its October 2023 attack in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 48,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory assault, according to Palestinian health authorities.

At least six journalists and media workers have been killed so far in 2025, the committee said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mourners in Nuseirat on December 16, 2024 pray in front of the body of Al Jazeera journalist Ahmad Baker Al-Louh, who was killed along with Civil Defence members in an Israeli strike the day before.
| Photo Credit: AFP

As many as 757 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide since 2015, as of December 24, 2024, according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In 2024, at least 98 journalists and media workers were killed, making it the second-highest yearly tally since 2015, when 100 were killed. This figure is also on par with the 2023 tally, as shown in the graphic below.

If the infographic isn’t visible or is incomplete, click here to exit AMP mode

In 2024, over 60% of all the journalists killed (98 in number) in the world were in the Palestinian region. In 2023, the region’s share was over 73%.

20 deadly countries for  journalists

Between 2015 and 2024, journalists killed in twenty countries — represented in the graphic below — accounted for almost 85% (or 647) of the total 757 deaths. Palestine and Israel accounted for 139 (18%) of these 757 deaths. Of the 139 journalists and media workers killed between 2015 and 2024, 135 lost their lives in 2023 and 2024 alone, following the outbreak of the war in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Among those killed, 133 were Palestinian, and two were Israeli. Additionally, six journalists from Lebanon were killed since the war began, according to data from CPJ.

In 2022, Mexico and Ukraine together accounted for over 40% of the journalist deaths worldwide. Notably, between 2019 and 2022, nearly one-fifth (20%) of all journalists killed globally lost their lives in Mexico.

In India, 31 journalists have been killed since 2015, making it the seventh most dangerous country over the past decade. The list of journalists killed in India is shown below.

Mediapersons killed between 2020 and 2024

The map below shows where journalists have been killed in the past five years

Click on the different years, arranged from 2024 to 2020, to see where journalists were killed in that year.

An aerial view of a mural depicting Palestinian photographers Mohammed Al-Masri (L), Ali Jadallah (2nd L), Abdelhakim Abu Riash (R) and Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary (2nd R) in Ilford, east London, on March 28, 2024, as part of a project launched by the art platform Creative Debuts called “Heroes of Palestine”.
| Photo Credit: AFP

UNESCO on May 2 awarded its world press freedom prize to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza, where Israel has been battling Hamas for more than six months.

“In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances,” said Mauricio Weibel, chair of the international jury of media professionals.

“As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression.”

Audrey Azoulay, director general at the UN organisation for education, science and culture, said the prize paid “tribute to the courage of journalists facing difficult and dangerous circumstances”.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 97 members of the press have been killed since the war broke out in October, 92 of whom were Palestinians.

The war started with Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel estimates that 129 captives seized by militants during their attack remain in Gaza. The military says 34 of them are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34,596 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry.