At least 39 journalists have been killed in just over a month of Israel’s war on Gaza – more than double the number killed in a year and a half of war between Russia and Ukraine – in what been described as “the deadliest month for journalists”. “.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says 39 journalists, including 34 Palestinians, have been killed since the latest conflict began on October 7. At least four Israelis and a Lebanese journalist were among those who lost their lives in the war. The Paris-based press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) puts the death toll at 41.
Israel has also been accused of violating the laws of war due to its indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 10,500 Palestinians, the vast majority civilians. The Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 killed more than 1,400 people.
How do journalist deaths in the Israel-Gaza war compare to other conflicts?
The war between Israel and Hamas saw more journalists killed in the first month of the conflict than any other conflict since CPJ began collecting statistics on journalists covering the conflict in 1992.
Christophe Deloire, RSF secretary general, called the death toll “shocking,” and the figure is likely to rise as the media watchdog continues to investigate reports of several other journalists injured or injured. missing.
In the war between Russia and Ukraine, a total of 17 journalists have been killed since the war began in 2022, with the latest reported killing being that of French cameraman Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, killed in May.
The US-led invasion of Iraq sparked a particularly deadly war for journalists – and marked the start of a trend that continues. According to CPJ, 283 journalists have been killed in Iraq since 2003. Among them, 11 were killed during the first month of the war, between March and April 2003.
Syria’s war claimed no journalist casualties during its first month of conflict in 2011, although the toll has since risen significantly, to between 270 and 715, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
For comparison, 63 journalists were killed during the two-decade Vietnam War, and a total of 69 killed during World War II (1939-45), the bloodiest war the modern world has seen.
Are journalists supposed to be protected in war zones?
Yes. Intentionally targeting journalists and civilians is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law. Journalists must be able to enjoy the freedom and protection necessary to carry out their work without undue interference.
But during the first weeks of the war, the Israeli military issued a statement to international news agencies, saying it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip.
“Through their arbitrary airstrikes, the Israeli armed forces are eliminating journalists one after the other without restraint, while their unacceptable comments betray a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law,” declares Jonathan Dagher, head of RSF’s Middle East desk. statement.
RSF reported that 10 journalists in the Gaza Strip were killed while working, and CPJ said 48 media facilities in Gaza were hit or destroyed. At least 10 other people were killed in their homes with their families. RSF is investigating whether they were deliberately targeted because of their work. Al Jazeera was unable to gather details about the circumstances in which other journalists were killed.
RSF filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on October 31, accusing Israel of having perpetrated war crimes against journalists in Gaza.
“This rate of attrition among media professionals has deeply shocked journalists around the world. No one can see the growing number of fallen colleagues without increasing the horror,” International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Secretary General Anthony Bellanger said in a November 2 statement.
Israel has previously been accused of “silenced” journalists after bombing a building housing the offices of Al Jazeera and the Associated Press in 2021.
How many journalists and their families have been killed?
Wael Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, tragically lost four members of his own family in Israeli airstrikes. “They are taking revenge on us through our children,” he said after finding his son’s lifeless body.
His wife Amna, his son Mahmoud, aged 15, and his daughter Sham, aged seven, were killed, as was his grandson Adam, aged 18 months, following orders to leave northern Gaza for the south, to then suffer Israeli bombings. Nuseirat refuge camp where they were staying.
“It’s clear what happened. This is a series of targeted attacks against children, women and civilians. I just reported such an attack from Yarmouk, and Israeli raids targeted many areas, including Nuseirat.
“We doubted that the Israeli occupation would not let these people leave without punishing them. And unfortunately, that’s what happened. This is the ‘safe’ zone that the occupying army was talking about,” Dahdouh said.
Mohamed Abu Hasira, a journalist with the Palestinian Authority-run Wafa news agency, was killed in an airstrike on his home in Gaza, along with 42 members of his family; and Mohamed Al Jaja, a consultant at Press-House Palestine, was killed in an airstrike on his home with his wife and two daughters in the Nasr neighborhood of northern Gaza.
Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, Youmna ElSayed, said it was a “shock that we journalists, who report to the world what is happening around us, had to report the story of our colleagues or our own families”.
Two years ago, she and others were given an hour to leave al-Jalaa Tower before Israel razed the building, saying it contained Hamas military assets. Israel has never provided proof of its allegations. The building housed residential apartments and the offices of Al Jazeera and the Associated Press.
Sherif Mansour, CPJ Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said: “Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid and continue to pay an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats. Many lost colleagues, families and media facilities, and fled in search of safety when there was no shelter or way out.
How were the Israeli and Lebanese journalists killed?
At least four Israeli journalists were also killed in the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel.
CPJ said Shai Regev, editor-in-chief of TMI, and Ayelet Arnin of Israeli broadcasting company Kan were among hundreds of other victims. Two others were killed on the kibbutz just outside Gaza. According to RSF, Roee Idan, a journalist with the Israeli newspaper YNet, was killed with his family on the Kibbutz of Kfar Aza, near the barrier with Gaza.
Yaniv Zohar, an Israeli photographer working for the Hebrew daily Israel Hayom, was killed in a Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz, along with his wife and two daughters.
Issam Abdallah, a Reuters journalist in Lebanon, was killed on October 13 by a missile strike from Israel.
What do journalistic authorities say?
Periods of communication blackouts have made it more difficult for journalists to document and report on the situation in Gaza. RSF demands that “foreign journalists be authorized to enter the territory so that they can work freely”.
Israel has threatened journalists and often referred to local journalists as Hamas supporters. This week he only authorized foreign journalists in Gaza integrated into the Israeli army.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has launched an appeal, signed by 80 journalist groups, for Israeli authorities to take full responsibility for protecting journalists covering the conflict. “We demand that Israelis explicitly commit that their armed forces will do everything possible to ensure that the grim toll of journalists killed in this conflict does not rise further. This is simply unacceptable and the Israeli government will have to accept its responsibilities. »
