When a journalist is killed, a piece of reality dies.
In just 18 months, the Israeli occupation forces have killed more journalists than any other occupation, war, conflict, or genocide in modern history.
American-Palestinian Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israel in 2022. Now there is a mural of her in Bethlehem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
By Kristian Lindhardt
Israel has killed more journalists than in all of World War I, World War II, and the wars in Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan combined.
That’s the conclusion of a report from the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs at Brown University, part of their Costs of War project, which documents the killings of journalists in Gaza since October 2023 as not only unprecedented — but systematic and deliberate.
Between October 7, 2023, and March 26, 2025, at least 232 journalists and media workers were killed in Gaza.
According to the report News Graveyards: How Dangers to War Reporters Endanger the World, nearly all the Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza were local reporters covering the destruction of their own communities under Israel’s constant bombardment.
Some worked for major international media outlets. Others for local Palestinian media. Almost all were killed either while working or in their homes.
Some were killed in direct attacks while clearly wearing marked PRESS vests. Others were killed in their homes, alongside their families.
Eyewitness accounts, testimonies from surviving journalists, forensic findings, and revelations about the extent and precision of the Israeli military strongly indicate that many — if not all — of the attacks were not accidental, but targeted.
The report compares Gaza with historical and contemporary war zones and concludes that “Gaza has become the most dangerous place in the world to be a journalist — not only in 2024, but in modern history.”
At the beginning of the invasion and escalation of the genocide in late 2023, Israel killed on average one journalist every other day.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) confirmed 147 journalists killed in Gaza from October 2023 to early 2024. Al Jazeera counted 222 by year’s end. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) added 10 more between January and March 2025 — totaling 232.
The report compiles these numbers and states that no other war, conflict, or genocide in modern history comes close to this level of targeted killings and violence against journalists and the media.
The systematic dehumanization of Palestinian journalists, the discrediting of their work, and the exclusion of global media from Gaza have together erased the humanity and integrity of Palestinian journalists in the eyes of the world.
Most of the slain Palestinian journalists were not affiliated with major Western outlets. They were local reporters, photographers, and cameramen. They worked under extreme conditions — without protective gear, escape routes, or insurance.
Their live documentation of the genocide of their people has formed the backbone of international war coverage — yet their work has primarily reached our small screens via social media — and has not been carried by major TV channels or mainstream newspapers.
Correspondent Rasmus Tantholdt recently responded to criticism of the lack of coverage by saying that TV2 does not carry Palestinian journalists' work because they cannot verify which journalists may be influenced by Hamas.
Meanwhile, several Palestinian journalists have won major international awards for their work in film, literature, and the entertainment industry (Peabody, Pulitzer, Emmy, Oscar, among others).
A now well-documented Israeli practice is to target journalists shortly after they appear in prominent media segments. This constitutes a direct war crime — and it has not only been committed against journalists.
In a documented attack, Mohammed Abu Hatab from Palestine TV was killed along with 11 family members — just hours after he had broadcast live from Khan Younis.
Recently, the specific hospital wing at Nasser Hospital where four outspoken American doctors were working was bombed — only hours after two of them, Dr. Pearlmutter and Dr. Sidwha, appeared on CNN. There, they said, among other things:
“There was never a ceasefire in Gaza. American and European mainstream media are directly responsible for the more than 100,000 children killed by Israel, many of whom are still buried under the rubble.”
Many of the killed journalists were important figures both in their local communities and internationally.
A large mural in Bethlehem depicts American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh with the words “LIVE NEWS STILL ALIVE.” Shireen was internationally recognized for her 25-year career with Al Jazeera.
On May 11, 2022, Shireen was shot multiple times and killed by an Israeli sniper while wearing a clearly marked PRESS vest. Long before October 7, 2023, it showed us a clear sign: journalists are not protected while covering the Israeli occupation, annexation, and genocide.
One of the first to be killed following Israel’s invasion and the intensification of its bombardment was Issam Abdallah, an experienced Reuters cameraman, killed by an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.
Others were young journalists just beginning their careers.
The 23-year-old Hossam Shabat was recently killed — shortly after receiving a direct threat from the IOF. In a statement released shortly after his death by his colleagues, he wrote:
“I have fulfilled my duty as a journalist. I have risked everything to convey the truth, and now I can finally find rest — something I haven’t known for the past 18 months.”
25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna was killed at the end of April 2025, the day after receiving news that her documentary would be shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The documentary, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, will be screened at the festival on May 13–14.
The mechanisms meant to protect journalists — international law, established media organizations and press unions, the Geneva Conventions, press-marked vests, accreditations, ID cards, the international community — have proven not to apply in practice to Palestinian journalists. Brown University’s report states:
“PRESS markings no longer offer protection. In some cases, they attract attacks.”
This raises serious global concerns — not only for journalists in Palestine, but for the entire international legal order. If the killing of journalists is normalized and goes unpunished, the foundation of global human rights, democracy, and press freedom is at risk of crumbling.
Israel’s military has not allowed foreign journalists access to Gaza since the start of the invasion and genocide. That makes the work of Palestinian journalists all the more vital — and all the more dangerous.
Although Israeli authorities have repeatedly denied directly targeting journalists, reality shows otherwise.
Several investigations have documented that many of the slain journalists had received threats shortly before their deaths. Others were killed shortly after sharing particularly critical or revealing content about Israeli attacks on civilian areas like refugee camps, hospitals, and apartment complexes.
In December 2023, Reporters Without Borders filed an official complaint with the International Criminal Court, accusing Israel of "crimes against journalists."
To date, no Israeli officials or military personnel have been held accountable.
Despite the extreme and historically unprecedented number of targeted journalist deaths, the response from Western governments has been one of silence.
The U.S., U.K., and Germany — Israel’s closest allies — have expressed "concern" but refrained from condemning the killings.
With the election of Donald Trump, more governments and established media outlets are slowly beginning to wake up.
But even the Biden administration sent weapons and billions in aid to Israel throughout the genocide — and most Western countries have yet to withdraw their support.
Human rights organizations call the role and actions of these Western countries complicity — both in the genocide and in the attack on press freedom.
"When journalists are killed in such large numbers and the world does not respond, it sends a clear signal: The truth is negotiable," says Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East coordinator.
When journalists are killed, the world loses its eyes on places it cannot reach or see. And without reporting and witness accounts, there is no documentation, no identification, no empathy or intervention from the outside world — and therefore no accountability for those responsible.
In Gaza, that means there are countless stories that have not been told. In many cases, we will never know what happened to entire families buried under the rubble. How many civilians were really killed.
What the world has lost along with the Palestinian journalists and civilians goes far beyond...
