09/05/2024
Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war
May 8, 2024 3:00 AM EDT
Share this:
Emai
Editor’s notes: The list below is CPJ’s most recent and preliminary account of journalist deaths in the war. Our database will not include all of these casualties until we have completed further investigations into the circumstances surrounding them. For more information, read our FAQ.
The Israel-Gaza war has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7 and Israel declared war on the militant Palestinian group, launching strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing in the war, which has led to the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
As of May 8, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 97 journalists and media workers were among the more than 35,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 34,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters and Agence France Press news agencies in October that it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, after they had sought assurances that their journalists would not be targeted by Israeli strikes, according to a Reuters report.
Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict during the Israeli ground assault, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages, and extensive power outages.
As of May 8:
97 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 92 Palestinian, 2 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese.
16 journalists were reported injured.
4 journalists were reported missing.
25 journalists were reported arrested.
Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members.
CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes.
“Since the Israel-Gaza war began, journalists have been paying the highest price— their lives—to defend our right to the truth. Each time a journalist dies or is injured, we lose a fragment of that truth,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos MartĂnez de la Serna in New York. “Journalists are civilians who are protected by international humanitarian law in times of conflict. Those responsible for their deaths face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze.”
The list published here includes names based on information obtained from CPJ’s sources in the region and media reports. It includes all journalists* involved in news-gathering activity. It is unclear whether all of these journalists were covering the conflict at the time of their deaths, but CPJ has included them in our count as we investigate their circumstances. The list is being updated on a regular basis.
Journalists and media workers reported killed, missing, or injured:
KILLED
March 15, 2024
Mohamed El-Reefi
March 14, 2024
Abdul Rahman Saima
March 5, 2024
Muhammad Salama
CPJ wasn’t immediately able to specify the number of family members killed with Salama. A report by the Qatari funded Al-Araby TV in the area showed damage from the airstrikes on the residential area, and Al-Araby’s reporter on the ground, Bassel Khalaf, said at least 6 people were pulled from under the rubble, while others remain missing. A witness in the area told the channel that the family was having dinner when they were killed.
According to Al-Aqsa Voice radio and the Egypt based Al-Bawaba News, Salama was buried in Gaza on March 6, 2024.
February 23, 2024
Mohamed Yaghi
February 15, 2024
Zayd Abu Zayed
February 12, 2024
Alaa Al-Hams
Angam Ahmad Edwan
February 11, 2024
Yasser Mamdouh El-Fady
February 8, 2024
Nafez Abdel Jawad
February 6, 2024
Rizq Al-Gharabli
January 29, 2024
Mohammed Atallah