2024 deadliest year for journalists: 104 killed, over half in Gaza
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According to the International Federation of Journalists, 2024 marks one of the most fatal years for media workers, particularly in the Middle East.
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Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh, reacts over the body of Al Jazeera cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP)
This year has been "particularly deadly" for journalists, with 104 killed worldwide, more than half of them in Gaza, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). While the death toll in 2024 is lower than the 129 journalists killed in 2023, IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger described it as "one of the worst years" on record.
Among the 104 deaths, 55 Palestinian media workers lost their lives amid "Israel’s" genocide in Gaza. The IFJ also noted that at least 138 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the war began on October 7, 2023. Bellanger condemned the "massacre" unfolding in Gaza, stating that many journalists were deliberately targeted while others were caught in the crossfire.
The war in Ukraine also claimed the lives of four journalists in 2024. The IFJ's count of journalist deaths tends to be higher than that of Reporters Without Borders due to different counting methods. In 2023, Reporters Without Borders reported 54 journalists and two collaborators killed, with 2024 figures expected to be released later this week.
In Asia, 20 journalists were killed: six in Pakistan, five in Bangladesh, and three in India, making the continent the second deadliest region of journalists.
Israeli forces killed 18 journalists in Gaza in November
At least 18 Palestinian media workers were killed in November as a result of Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip, highlighted a recent report by a Palestinian journalists’ rights group.
The report, issued by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), indicated that the Israeli occupation is deliberately targeting journalists to suppress coverage of the war and its severe human rights violations.
According to MADA, Israeli forces committed 65 violations against journalists in the occupied West Bank and Gaza during the reported period. The report detailed that these violations included 22 incidents in the occupied West Bank and 43 in Gaza.
MADA emphasized that the Israeli assaults aim to “silence journalists and prevent them from documenting the ongoing events and atrocities for the global community.” The group further reported that Israeli airstrikes destroyed the homes of seven journalists in Gaza.
