2024 deadliest year for journos; almost 70% killed by Israel

Journalists mourn the dead in Gaza

A record number of journalists were killed worldwide in 2024, found a new report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Israel is responsible for nearly 70 percent of that total.

At least 124 journalists across 18 countries were killed last year, making it the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since CPJ started keeping records more than three decades ago.

“Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in CPJ’s history,” said CPJ 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. Our figures show journalists under attack worldwide.”

The global upswing in killings—a 22 percent increase from 2023—was largely driven by the Israel-Gaza war, which accounted for 85 journalist deaths, all at the hands of the Israeli military. Most of those killed, 82, were Palestinians. Sudan and Pakistan had the second-highest number of journalists and media workers killed in 2024, with six each.

At least 24 journalists worldwide were deliberately killed because of their work in 2024, CPJ found. In Gaza and Lebanon, CPJ documented 10 cases where journalists were murdered by the Israeli military. The remaining 14 journalist murders in 2024 took place in Haiti, Mexico, Pakistan, Myanmar, Mozambique, India, Iraq, and Sudan.

Freelancers, who report the news with the fewest resources and with considerable risk to their own safety, accounted for more than 35% (43) of all killings. In 2024, 31 cases were Palestinians reporting from Gaza, where international media continue to be barred from reporting from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, except for rare and escorted trips arranged by the Israeli military. – Committee to Protect Journalists