Last year was the “deadliest year for journalists” in the history of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Israel was responsible for almost 70 percent of all journalists killed. 

The nonprofit published a special report yesterday saying that more journalists were killed in 2024 “than in any other year since the Committee to Protect Journalists began collecting data more than three decades ago”. 

It counted 124 deaths, of which it said “nearly two-thirds” – approximately 85 journalists – were Palestinians killed by Israel.

At least 24 of these deaths were categorised as cases where CPJ found “clear evidence” to suggest the journalist was deliberately targeted for their work. 

“The murder cases include Ismail Al Ghoul, a 27-year-old Palestinian journalist working for the Al Jazeera Arabic TV channel, who was killed in July with his colleague Rami Al Refee, by an Israeli drone strike on their car. Al Ghoul and Al Refee were leaving a refugee camp near Gaza City where they had been reporting,” the report said. 

Over one-third of all journalists killed – 43 in total – were freelancers, which the report said was a “grim new record for self-employed members of the press who often face the most danger because they have the fewest resources”. Thirty-one of them were killed in Gaza where many journalists became freelancers “after their outlets were destroyed” by Israel. 

CPJ said the global total of 124 killings last year exceeds “the record high of 113 killed in 2007”, a year when the Iraq war accounted for almost half of journalist casualties.

“The number of conflicts globally – whether political, criminal, or military in nature – has doubled in the past five years, and this is reflected in the high number of deaths of journalists in nations such as Sudan, Pakistan, and Myanmar. But the toll of conflict on the press is most glaring in the unprecedented number of journalists and media workers killed in the Israel-Gaza war, 85 in 2024, and 78 in 2023,” it said.

Data for India

The report recorded one murder of a journalist in India last year – that of Ashutosh Srivastava in May. Srivastava was a BJP leader who also worked for Sudarshan News. He was shot dead by unidentified assailants while riding a bike in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur.

A month before being killed, Srivastava had written to the local police about receiving threats after reporting on illegal slaughter of cows. While it has not been established if he was killed in connection with his report, CPJ cited his kin as saying that the police “did not pay heed to his request”.

Plan of action

CPJ’s report listed a number of recommendations to “deliver accountability and end impunity”.

It said governments must “publicly acknowledge and condemn journalist killings” and “refrain from political rhetoric that vilifies journalists for their work and contributes to an environment that compromises their safety”.

Governments must also “promptly and exhaustively investigate” all cases of journalists being killed in connection with their work, and support the establishment of an “independent international investigative task force focused on crimes against journalists”.

News organisations must “conduct risk assessments” for their employees, provide protective gear, and cooperate with local authorities with investigations. CPJ said they must also “treat freelancers and staff equally in regards to safety and support”.

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