Israel killed most journalists worldwide in 2025

Israel was responsible for the deaths of around two-thirds of all journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP) said in a report on Wednesday.

The deaths pushed the global toll to a record 129 last year, making 2025 the deadliest year for media workers since the US-based organisation began keeping records more than three decades ago.

"This marks back-to-back record years for press fatalities due to Israel’s continued and unprecedented targeting of journalists and media workers," the CJP said.

"More than 60 percent of the 86 members of the press killed by Israeli fire in 2025 were Palestinians reporting from Gaza, where human rights groups and UN experts agree a genocide is taking place," the press freedom watchdog continued.

Killers in five countries were responsible for 84 percent of journalist deaths in 2025, with Israel accounting for 86 of the killings, followed by Sudan with nine, Mexico with six, Russia with four, and the Philippines with three.

The deadliest attack took place on 25 August, when Israel killed at least 20 people, including five media staff, two of them Middle East Eye journalists, in "double-tap" air strikes on Nasser hospital in southern Gaza.

Striking the same spot back-to-back after reporters, bystanders, and first responders gather at the scene has become commonly known as a “double-tap” - a tactic that has been criticised widely by human rights experts and foreign governments.

The CPJ also says that drone strikes on journalists are globally on the rise and that Israel used them the most last year. Of the 39 deaths involving drones documented by the organisation in 2025, 28 were by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Israel claims journalists are militants

In many instances, the Israeli military rejected targeting the journalists, claiming that they were militants disguised as journalists. Rights groups call the claims "smear campaigns", saying Israel provided no credible evidence to substantiate them.

“Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg.

Gaza genocide: How a lifetime was compressed into a single year

Read More »

“Attacks on the media are a leading indicator of attacks on other freedoms, and much more needs to be done to prevent these killings and punish the perpetrators. We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting the news.”

Israel has barred international media from independently entering Gaza since the war started in October 2023. This has not changed since the signing of the Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect last October.

Almost all on-the-ground reporting during the genocide has been done by Palestinian journalists in Gaza, who have been living through harsh conditions, including displacement, limited access to humanitarian aid, and intimidation of their familiy members because of their journalistic work.

According to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Israeli military has killed more than 700 family members of journalists since October 2023.

“The journalist is no longer the sole target,” a report by the syndicate said last year. “The family has been transformed into a tool of pressure and collective punishment, violating the core principles of international humanitarian law.”