Committee: Israel responsible for two-thirds of record number of journalists killed in 2025

The Committee to Protect Journalists announced today that 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, a new record, with Israel held responsible for about two-thirds of these deaths.

This marks the second consecutive annual record for the number of journalists killed, making it the deadliest year since the committee began collecting data over three decades ago.

The executive director of the committee, Judy Ginsburg, said in a statement, "Journalists are being killed in unprecedented numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever."

She added, "We are all at risk when journalists are killed because of their news coverage."

The committee reported in its report that more than three-quarters of the deaths in 2025 occurred in contexts of armed conflict.

She pointed out that more than 60 percent of the 86 journalists killed by Israeli fire in 2025 were Palestinians covering events from the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army says it does not intentionally target journalists.

The number of journalists killed in Ukraine and Sudan in 2025 increased compared to the previous year.

The committee highlighted the increasing use of drones, documenting 39 cases, including 28 killings carried out by Israel in Gaza and five operations attributed to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.

In Ukraine, four journalists were killed by Russian military drones, the highest annual number of press casualties in the war since 15 journalists were killed in 2022.

The committee stated that journalists have become more at risk due to the continued culture of impunity, pointing to the absence of transparent investigations into the killings.

ANHA