The Committee to Defend Journalists stated 2024 was essentially the most harmful yr but for journalists, with 124 media employees killed.
A document variety of journalists have been killed in 2024, with Israel responsible for more than two-thirds of these deaths, the Committee to Defend Journalists (CPJ) has stated in its annual report.
Asserting its findings on Wednesday, the CPJ stated at the very least 124 journalists have been killed in 18 international locations final yr, in what was the deadliest year for media workers because the committee started conserving information greater than three a long time in the past.
The earlier deadliest yr for media employees was 2007, when 113 journalists have been killed, with nearly half of these as a result of Iraq warfare, the press freedom group stated.
“In the present day is essentially the most harmful time to be a journalist in CPJ’s historical past,” the committee’s chief Jodie Ginsberg stated within the assertion.
“The warfare in Gaza is unprecedented in its affect on journalists and demonstrates a significant deterioration in world norms on defending journalists in battle zones, however it’s removed from the one place journalists are in peril,” she stated.
No less than 85 journalists died all through 2024 by the hands of the Israeli army throughout Israel’s warfare on Gaza, the CPJ stated, with 82 of those that have been killed being Palestinians.
The advocacy group additionally accused Israel of attempting to stifle investigations into the killings, shift blame onto journalists for their very own deaths, and ignoring its obligation to carry its personal army personnel accountable for the killings of so many media employees.
The CPJ named Sudan and Pakistan because the joint second most dangerous international locations for media employees final yr, with six journalists killed in every.
It additionally stated at the very least 24 journalists have been intentionally killed due to their work, in what it described as an “alarming rise within the variety of focused killings”.
The CPJ stated 10 journalists have been “murdered” by the Israeli army in Gaza and Lebanon, whereas the 14 different journalists have been assassinated in Haiti, Mexico, Pakistan, Myanmar, Mozambique, India, Iraq, and Sudan.
The group stated that freelance journalists accounted for 43 deaths – greater than 35 % of final yr’s whole – with 31 of these circumstances being Palestinians reporting from Gaza.
“Worldwide media proceed to be barred from reporting from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, aside from uncommon and escorted journeys organized by the Israeli army,” the CPJ stated, highlighting the important work of freelancers within the besieged enclave.
“CPJ has repeatedly advocated for Israel and Egypt to open entry, and reiterates that decision as a part of the continued ceasefire,” it added.
The Israeli army has killed a number of Al Jazeera journalists protecting the warfare in Gaza since October 2023.
Amongst these killed have been Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi, who died on July 31, 2024, when Israeli forces bombed their automotive within the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza Metropolis.
Israeli authorities denied intentionally concentrating on the pair, in addition to different journalists in Gaza.
In a press release, Al Jazeera Media Community labelled the killings a “focused assassination” and pledged to “pursue all authorized actions to prosecute the perpetrators of those crimes”.
Israel’s assaults on Palestinian journalists have additionally continued into 2025, with reporter Ahmad al-Shayah amongst six killed in a drone strike on a charity facility in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on January 15.
