According to the annual report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the global total of 124 killings exceeds the previous high of 113, set in 2007 in the midst of the Iraq war. The organisation cites the doubling of global conflicts – whether political, criminal or military – over the past five years as a major factor in the rising death toll. Notable among these are the conflicts in Sudan, Pakistan and Myanmar, each of which saw an increase in journalist deaths in 2024.
But it is the Israel-Gaza war that accounts for an unprecedented number of deaths, with 85 journalists and media workers killed by Israel last year. Beyond Gaza (82 deaths) and Lebanon (3), CPJ documented the killing of 39 other journalists and media workers in 2024 in 16 countries, including Sudan (6), Pakistan (6), Mexico (5), Syria (4), Myanmar (3), Iraq (3), and Haiti (2).
CPJ’s methodology counts journalists believed to have been killed in connection with their work, whether deliberately targeted for their reporting or accidentally caught in conflict zones. A total of 24 journalists were deliberately killed worldwide in 2024, including 10 in Gaza and Lebanon. The others were in Haiti, Mexico, Pakistan, Myanmar, Mozambique, India, Iraq and Sudan.
Among the targeted killings was the case of Ismail Al Ghoul, a 27-year-old journalist working for Al Jazeera Arabic TV. Al Ghoul was killed along with his colleague Rami Al Refee in an Israeli drone strike on their car in July after they had reported from a refugee camp near Gaza City. Israel confirmed the strike but claimed Al Ghoul was a Hamas operative, presenting what experts have called ‘dubious evidence’. Al Jazeera condemned the killing as part of a ‘systematic targeting campaign’.
CPJ says it is investigating another 20 killings in which Israel may have specifically targeted journalists. International humanitarian law classifies journalists as civilians, and targeting them is a war crime.
The wider impact of the conflict is also acutely felt in Sudan, where nearly two years of civil war have left tens of thousands dead. In 2024, three journalists were confirmed killed as a result of their work, with two other media workers among the victims. Pakistan also recorded six journalist deaths, the highest number since 2021, amid escalating political unrest and increasing restrictions on the press.
CPJ warns that the global rise in journalist deaths poses a serious threat to the flow of information and democratic accountability. The organisation is calling on governments and international bodies to strengthen protections for journalists, condemn deliberate attacks, and ensure that perpetrators of violence against media workers are brought to justice.
