DaysofPal – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported that Israel was responsible for nearly two-thirds of all journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025, contributing to the deadliest year for the press in more than three decades.
In its report released Wednesday, CPJ said 129 journalists were killed globally in 2025, the highest annual toll since the New York-based watchdog began keeping records over 30 years ago. Israel accounted for 86 of those deaths. The organization described the figures as marking a second consecutive record year for press fatalities linked to Israeli actions, citing an unprecedented pattern of targeting media workers.
More than 60 percent of the 86 journalists killed by Israeli fire were Palestinians reporting from Gaza. CPJ noted that many of them were covering events on the ground in a territory where human rights organizations and United Nations experts have raised grave concerns about widespread violations.
Five countries were responsible for 84 percent of journalist deaths worldwide in 2025. After Israel, Sudan recorded nine killings, Mexico six, Russia four, and the Philippines three.
The deadliest single incident occurred on 25 August, when at least 20 people were killed in air strikes on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. Five media workers were among the dead, including two journalists from Middle East Eye. The attack involved what is known as a “double-tap” strike, a tactic in which the same location is hit again after reporters, bystanders, and emergency responders gather. Human rights experts and several governments have strongly criticized the practice.
CPJ also highlighted a global increase in drone strikes targeting journalists. Of the 39 drone-related journalist deaths documented in 2025, 28 were attributed to the Israeli military in Gaza, making it the leading user of this method during the year.
In response to accusations of targeting media workers, the Israeli military has repeatedly stated that it does not deliberately strike journalists. Officials have claimed in several cases that those killed were militants posing as reporters. Rights groups have rejected those assertions, describing them as smear campaigns and arguing that no credible evidence has been presented to substantiate the claims.
“Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” CPJ Chief Executive Officer Jodie Ginsberg said. She warned that attacks on the media often signal broader assaults on fundamental freedoms and called for stronger efforts to prevent further killings and hold perpetrators accountable.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, Israel has barred international media from entering Gaza independently. The restriction has remained in place despite the Gaza ceasefire that took effect last October.
As a result, most reporting from inside Gaza has been carried out by Palestinian journalists working under extremely difficult conditions. Many have faced displacement, shortages of humanitarian assistance, and threats directed at their families.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate reports that since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed over 700 journalists’ relatives. In a report issued last year, the syndicate said journalists’ relatives had become targets of pressure and collective punishment, actions it said violate the core principles of international humanitarian law.
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