2024 deadliest year for reporters, most killed by 'Israel': CPJ
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Sudan and Pakistan had the second-greatest number of journalists and media workers slain, with six each.
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Palestinian journalists carry mock coffins of Palestinian journalists who were killed during the war on Gaza during a symbolic funeral toward a United Nations office, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on November 7, 2023. (AP)
Last year was the bloodiest for journalists in recent history, with at least 124 killed, with "Israel" responsible for roughly 70% of the killings, the Committee to Protect Journalists revealed Wednesday.
The 22% rise over 2023 reflects "surging levels of international conflict, political unrest, and criminality worldwide," according to the CPJ.
According to the CPJ, it was the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since the organization began collecting data more than three decades ago, with journalists killed in 18 different nations.
A total of 85 journalists died in the war on Gaza, "all at the hands of the Israeli military," according to the CPJ, who added that 82 were Palestinians.
Sudan and Pakistan had the second-greatest number of journalists and media workers slain, with six each.
Five journalists were killed in Mexico, which is known as one of the most hazardous nations for reporters, according to CPJ, which discovered "persistent flaws" in Mexico's processes for protecting journalists.
In Haiti, where two journalists were killed, pervasive violence and political instability have wreaked so much havoc that "gangs now openly claim responsibility for journalist killings," the report stated. Other deaths occurred in Myanmar, Mozambique, India, and Iraq.
CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg called it the "most dangerous time to be a journalist" in the history of the organization
"The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms on protecting journalists," Ginsberg explained.
The CPJ has maintained track of journalist deaths since 1992 and reported that 24 reporters were deliberately killed in 2024 as a result of their work. The report also noted that freelancers are among the most vulnerable due to a lack of resources, accounting for 43 of the deaths in 2024.
According to the CPJ, the new year of 2025 is not looking increasingly promising, with six journalists already killed in the last few weeks.
