KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — At least 124 journalists and media workers were killed in 2024, making it the deadliest year since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began tracking data more than three decades ago.
Nearly 70 per cent of the victims (85) were Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during the Israel-Gaza war, it announced in its latest annual report on press killings.
Addressing the recent publication, CPJ chief executive officer Jodie Ginsberg warned that “Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in CPJ’s history.”
“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,” she said.
The death toll in 2024 surpassed the previous record of 113 in 2007. This was during the peak of the Iraq War, when 51 journalists and media workers were killed.
Of the 124 deaths, 82 occurred in Gaza and three in Lebanon, with the remaining 36 killings spread across 16 countries.
Sudan and Pakistan were tied as the second-deadliest countries for media workers in 2024, with each recording six journalist deaths, according to CPJ.
Mexico and Myanmar also saw deadly years for the press, with five journalists killed in Mexico and three killed by Myanmar’s military. In Iraq, a resurgence of military operations against Kurdish groups led to the country’s first journalist fatalities since 2020.
Most journalists killed by Israel
According to CPJ’s records, the 85 journalists and media workers killed by Israel in 2024 were “the highest number of annual killings by a single country in more than three decades.”
Among the 82 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel last year in Gaza were sibling journalists Ahmed Abu Skheil, 25, and his sister, Zahraa Abu Skheil, 22. Both were killed in an Israeli school bombing on November 9, 2024.
Earlier that year in March, the siblings' three journalist cousins, Mohamed El Sayed Abu Skheil, 33; Tarek Al-Sayed Abu Sakhil, 31; and Mohammed Adel Abu Skheil, 24, had been killed by the Israeli occupation army in their raids of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.
The youngest journalist identified by the CPJ to have been killed last year was 18-year-old Palestinian freelance journalist and photographer Hassan Hamad. He was killed by an Israeli drone strike on October 6, 2024, while reporting from North Gaza.
In Lebanon, three members of the press had been killed by Israel. Ghassan Najjar, 48; Wissam Qassim (age unknown); and Mohammed Reda, 55, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on October 25, 2024. The airstrike hit a compound housing 18 journalists from different media outlets.
“Murder” of journalists
CPJ said at least 24 journalists had been deliberately targeted because of their reporting, classifying them as “murders”.
(A journalist’s death is classified as a murder by CPJ only if its research reveals convincing proof that the killing was work-related.)
Nearly half of the journalists murdered in 2024 were by Israel — seven in Gaza and three in Lebanon.
The murders in Gaza include that of Al Jazeera Arabic’s Ismail Al Ghoul, 27, and his colleague, freelance journalist Rami Al Refee, 26. Both were killed in a targeted Israeli drone strike on their car on July 31, 2024, as they were leaving the Al Shati refugee camp near Gaza City.
The December 26 killings of Ayman Al Gedi, 28; Fadi Hassouna, 22; Faisal Abu Al Qumsan, 27; Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, 38; and Mohammed Al-Ladaa, 23, were also classified as murders by the CPJ. The five were killed in an Israeli strike on their press vehicle that was parked outside the Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza.
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Police stand on a road during an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, on March 3, 2021. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
CPJ is also currently investigating 20 other cases where Israel may have directly targeted journalists — actions that could constitute war crimes under international law.
The remaining 14 journalists whose killings CPJ confirmed as deliberate murders in 2024 were based in Myanmar, Pakistan, Haiti, Iraq, India, Mexico, Mozambique, and Sudan.
CPJ's report also highlights a disturbing rise in targeted drone strikes. In 2024, Israeli drone strikes killed four of the 10 journalists murdered in Gaza.
It also noted possible drone-related attacks on journalists in Iraq and Syria. This marks a sharp uptick from 2023, when the CPJ recorded only one suspected drone killing in Gaza and three drone-related injuries in Gaza, Russia, and Ukraine.
Rise in freelance journalist killings
Freelancers were especially vulnerable in 2024, accounting for 43 of the journalists killed. This figure beats the previous highest number recorded by the CPJ in 2023, where 17 freelancers were killed.
Thirty-one of the freelancers killed last year were Palestinians in Gaza. Many Gazan journalists had turned to freelance work after the war destroyed their newsrooms.
CPJ notes that their coverage of the war in Gaza had been vital for international media, as Israel had barred independent foreign journalists from entering the Strip, allowing only a few tightly controlled military-guided visits.
Spike in jailings
Another recently released CPJ report on press jailings stated that 361 journalists were imprisoned worldwide as of December 1, 2024. This marks the second-highest number recorded since CPJ began tracking press detentions in 1992.
The spike in imprisonments was driven by ongoing authoritarian crackdowns, conflict, and political instability, with China (50), Israel (43), and Myanmar (35) topping the list of the worst jailers of journalists. Rounding up the top 10 were Belarus (31), Russia (30), Egypt (17), Eritrea (16), Iran (16), Vietnam (16), and Azerbaijan (13).
“These numbers should be a wake-up call for us all. A rise in attacks on journalists almost always precedes a rise in attacks on other freedoms - the freedom to give and receive information, the freedom to assemble and move freely, the freedom to protest,” said Ginsberg in the report.
More journalists jailed in Asia, Israel
Asia accounted for the highest regional total, with 111 journalists jailed, more than 30 per cent of the global figure.
In the Middle East and North Africa, Israel was responsible for nearly half of the region’s 108 jailed journalists. CPJ highlighted growing international concern over the arbitrary detention of Palestinian journalists, calling for accountability and redress.
The organisation said the detention of Palestinian journalists was “symptomatic of Israel’s broader effort to prevent coverage of its actions in Gaza.” This includes prohibiting foreign journalists from entering the territory.
The Israeli government also banned Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera from operating in Israel and the occupied West Bank, using a wartime law that allows it to shut down foreign media outlets deemed a threat to national security.
The report also highlights the use of vague anti-state charges, such as terrorism or extremism, as legal tools to silence dissent. Charges of incitement, defamation, and false news are also regularly used.
Over 60 per cent of the journalists imprisoned globally in 2024 faced such accusations, with those from marginalised communities often targeted.
Despite falling numbers in countries like Türkiye, the CPJ warned that legal harassment, censorship, and intimidation remain serious threats to independent media across Africa, Latin America, and Europe.
— Bernama
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A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, on May 1, 2023. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
