Israel’s Assault on Gaza Helped Make 2024 One of Deadliest Years Ever for Journalists: Report

The International Federation of Journalists, a group that represents media professionals, on Tuesday decried 2024 as one of the deadliest years for journalists. The group reports that more than 50% of those journalist deaths took place in the Middle East and Arab world—many due to Israeli airstrikes that have rained down on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports that its updated tally for journalists killed in 2024 stands at 122, up from the 104 documented killings the group reported on December 10, International Human Rights Day. “The updated list of 31 December is primarily the result of additional deaths in the Middle East and the Arab world—nine more journalists have been killed in Palestine and two in Syria,” per the group.

Last week, the Israeli military bombed a press vehicle in Gaza, killing five journalists in an attack that the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned as a “heinous crime.” The journalists—Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, and Ayman al-Jadi—all worked for “Al-Quds Today,” a local television channel.

IFJ reported that 129 journalists and media workers were killed in 2023. Since October 7, 2023 “the number of Palestinian journalists killed has risen to at least 147, making this country one of the most dangerous in the history of modern journalism,” wrote IFJ in a Tuesday statement.

“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of 122 media professionals killed this year. Behind this high figure, there are 122 truncated stories,” wrote IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger in the statement.

“To guarantee that the deaths of journalists do not go unpunished and to put an end to this scourge once and for all, we urge U.N. member states to take steps to ensure the adoption of a binding convention on the safety of journalists,” he added.

Another group that advocates for journalists, Reporters Without Borders, offered a lower figure for the number of journalists killed worldwide in 2024 in their yearly roundup, which was published mid-December. Using a more narrow definition of journalists “killed on the job or in connection with their work,” the group reported that at least 54 journalist had been killed around the globe this year.

Meanwhile, the outlet Al Jazeera on Monday published a tribute to Palestinian journalists and media workers killed in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and December 25, 2024—tallying at least 217 journalists and media workers slain.