Paris- In order to convey the voice of truth to the world and expose the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people, journalists pay a heavy price that leads to their lives and the loss of their families in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In its annual report, which it published today, Thursday, Reporters Without Borders seeks to trace the features of violations affecting the journalism profession in various parts of the world, including assassinations, imprisonment, and disappearances.
The international organization described the Gaza Strip as a “cemetery of journalists,” where “Israel deliberately stifles the work of journalists and kills them, and practices various methods to hinder them in the field, in addition to displacement, siege, preventing foreign journalists from entering Gaza, cutting off the Internet, and threatening messages that they receive.”
The most dangerous country in the world
Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, 17 journalists have lost their lives while carrying out their work, 13 of them in Palestine, 3 journalists in Lebanon, and another in Israel, according to the organization’s report.
Jonathan Dagher, head of the Middle East desk at Reporters Without Borders, explained that these numbers refer to “journalists who were killed or targeted while carrying out their work only.”
Speaking to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Dagher confirmed that “Palestine is considered the most dangerous country in the world for journalists in 2023, even if our report included only 13 journalists instead of the actual number of 89 journalists,” referring to dozens of other Palestinian journalists who were martyred along with their families in Israeli bombing also targeted their homes in the Gaza Strip.
In clear comparison, 12 journalists were killed in Ukraine while carrying out their work over two years of war. In contrast, the Israeli bombing claimed the lives of 13 journalists in Palestine before December 1 in a period not exceeding two months, according to the organization’s annual census.
Reporters Without Borders also published a report two weeks ago regarding the persecution facing journalists in the West Bank, and the pressures they are subjected to, as at least 14 of them were detained in precautionary measure. “Unfortunately, this number is likely to rise,” according to the spokesman.
Dagher continued, saying, “This means that what we are witnessing today in the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip is considered one of the most deadly wars for journalists in the world.”
The death toll has declined globally
The annual report, prepared by Reporters Without Borders since 1995, reveals the number of journalists killed while exercising their profession. During this year, 45 journalists were counted, which is 16 fewer than last year.
This gradual decrease in the number of deaths in the line of journalistic duty over the past five years is partly due to increased security measures being taken, and the end of tensions in Iraq and Syria, where nearly 600 journalists were killed between 2003 and 2022.
However, these measures remain insufficient in some countries. Although the number of journalists killed in Latin America decreased from 26 last year to 6 this year, they are still suffering from kidnappings and armed attacks in Mexico, for example, according to the report’s data.
The countries in the Middle East are considered among the countries where journalists are most likely to be killed in 2023, with their number reaching 18 journalists this year and 67 journalists over the past five years, especially in Palestine and Lebanon.
The Middle East Office official explained that the organization filed a complaint before the International Criminal Court, to confirm that “the direct targeting of journalists in Gaza and other areas is a war crime according to the Geneva Convention and the laws of the International Court.”
He added, “Today we are studying how to move to achieve justice for journalist Issam Abdullah, who was killed in southern Lebanon, where recent investigations indicated that he was killed by shelling from an Israeli army tank, and the site where the journalists were was directly targeted.”
Although the annual report mentions a decrease in the number of journalists killed compared to previous years, this decline highlights at the same time the extent of the disaster currently in Palestine.
Dagher told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “Since we stopped counting on December 1, journalists in the Gaza Strip are still being killed, and there is nothing protecting them from the bomb that may fall on them from the sky except a political decision, which does not exist according to indicators.”
Journalists detained
521 journalists around the world will begin their next year behind bars, up from 569 last year. China is the largest prison for journalists in the world, detaining 121 journalists, or approximately 23% of the total detained journalists.
In the Middle East, Syria comes first, with the number of journalists detained in its prisons reaching 25, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 24 journalists, then Egypt with 19 others.
The press in North Africa is not in a better situation, as dozens of journalists were arrested and imprisoned in Tunisia after Kais Saied came to power, and two of them are still in detention, namely Shatha Haj Mubarak and Khalifa Al Qasimi.
In Algeria, two journalists, Mustafa Ben Jamaa and Ihssan El Kadi, are currently behind bars, while three journalists in Morocco are still facing severe prison sentences: Tawfiq Bouachrine, Omar Radi, and Slimane Raissouni.
Overall, the decrease in the number of detained journalists globally is due to the release of 24 journalists in Iran and 23 others in Turkey, where journalists are frequently subjected to prison sentences.
At the level of female journalists, 67 journalists were arrested as of December 1, and 8 female journalists were imprisoned in 2023. China, Belarus, and Burma are the 3 largest prisons for female journalists, where they are sentenced to severe sentences. In the Middle East, Iran is more concerned in this matter.
Disappearances of journalists
The Reporters Without Borders report showed that 54 journalists are being held hostage around the world, a decrease of 16.9% compared to last year.
Today, there are at least 54 journalists in captivity, including 38 in Syria, 9 in Iraq, 4 in Yemen, two in Mali, and one journalist in Mexico, while nearly half (25) were kidnapped by ISIS in Iraq and Syria between 2013 and 2015.
Two journalists, Salke Ag Jeddou and Mustapha Kony, have remained in captivity in northern Mali since November 7, and French journalist Olivier Dubois was released in the same region. The Reporters Without Borders report indicates that there is no information or evidence about the status of detained journalists in Iraq or Syria.
Mexico still has the largest number of missing journalists in the world, witnessing 31 disappearances out of 84 cases. In general, Latin America is the region that contains more than half of the missing journalists (43) in the world, according to the annual census of the international organization.
Since the beginning of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian photojournalists Haitham Abdel Wahed and Nidal Al-Hamidi are still missing. They were last seen in Beit Hanoun near a checkpoint when covering the events on October 7 at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.