Almost three-quarters of journalists killed in 2023 died in Israel’s war on Gaza: CPJ

Seventy-two of the 99 journalists killed worldwide in 2023 were Palestinians reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza, making those 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The CPJ’s annual report highlighted that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than in any single country over an entire year. In total, 77 journalists were documented killed in the Gaza war last year while working: 72 Palestinians, three Lebanese, and two Israelis.

The Palestinian victims represented nearly 75% of all journalists killed worldwide, said Jodie Ginsberg, president of the CPJ, emphasizing the unprecedented threat this war poses to journalists.

The organization criticized the “persecution” of journalists by Israeli forces and is investigating whether a dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute a war crime. The CPJ report warned that Mexico – along with the Philippines and Somalia – was “one of the world’s deadliest countries for the press”.