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.

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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.

Palestinian journalists carry mock coffins of colleagues who were killed during the war in Gaza during a symbolic funeral toward a United Nations office, in the West Bank city of Ramallah
| Photo Credit: AP

Fifty-four journalists were killed worldwide while carrying out their work or because of their profession in 2024, a third of them by the Israeli army, according to an annual report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published Thursday (December 12, 2024).

According to the press freedom NGO, Israeli armed forces were responsible for the deaths of 18 journalists this year — 16 in Gaza and two in Lebanon.

“Palestine is the most dangerous country for journalists, recording a higher death toll than any other country over the past five years,” RSF said in its annual report, which covers data up to December 1.

The organisation has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “war crimes committed against journalists by the Israeli army.”

It said that in total “more than 145” journalists had been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since the start of the war there in October 2023, with 35 of them working at the time of their deaths, RSF said.

It described the number of killings as “an unprecedented bloodbath.”

IFJ reports 104 deaths

In a separate report published Tuesday, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported that 104 journalists were killed worldwide in 2024, with more than half of them in Gaza.

The figures differ between the IFJ and RSF due to two different methodologies used in calculating the toll.

RSF only includes journalists whose deaths have been “proven to be directly related to their professional activity.”

Israel denies report

Israel denies that it intentionally harms journalists but admits that some have been killed in air strikes on military targets.

“We don’t accept these figures. We don’t believe they are correct,” Israeli government spokesman David Mercer told a press conference on Wednesday.

After Gaza, the deadliest places for journalists in 2024 were Pakistan with seven deaths, followed by Bangladesh and Mexico with five each.

In 2023, the number of journalists killed worldwide stood at 45 in the same January-December period.

Journalists arrested

As of December 1, there were 550 journalists imprisoned worldwide, compared to 513 last year, according to RSF figures.

The three countries with the highest numbers of detained journalists are China (124, including 11 in Hong Kong), Myanmar (61), and Israel (41).

Furthermore, 55 journalists are currently being held hostage, including two abducted in 2024. Nearly half — 25 in total — are in the hands of the Islamic State group.

In addition, 95 journalists are reported missing, including four new cases reported in 2024.