Wars have claimed the lives of reporters before, from Europe’s trenches to Vietnam’s jungles, but no conflict has taken such a toll on journalists as Gaza.
Brown University’s Costs of War project says that since October 7, 2023, more than 230 journalists and media workers have died there, a number higher than all journalist deaths combined in the US Civil War, the First and Second World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Balkan wars, and post-9/11 Afghanistan. By August 2025, the count had climbed further, with monitoring site Shireen.ps recording nearly 270 deaths (as per Aljazeera). That works out to around 13 every month.
Other watchdogs report slightly lower but still staggering figures. The Committee to Protect Journalists lists at least 184 Palestinian journalists killed, while Reporters Without Borders confirms more than 145, with over 35 known to have been deliberately targeted. Even with differences in counting, every source points to Gaza as the deadliest place ever for reporters.
Loss of voices
Israel has barred international reporters from entering Gaza, which has left local Palestinian journalists carrying the work of documenting the war. Many are now gone. Rights groups warn that the absence of these voices has created a gap in coverage, one that leaves grave abuses likely to pass without record.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says the deaths and detentions of reporters since October 7 have created a “news void,” stripping the world of first-hand accounts of a war that continues daily.
Israel’s position
Israel rejects the accusation that it is intentionally targeting members of the press. Officials say military operations are aimed at Hamas, which they accuse of embedding its fighters in civilian neighborhoods, using residential areas for command centers, and endangering anyone nearby, including journalists. The government stresses that its campaign was launched after the October 7 attacks, when Hamas fighters killed more than a thousand people and seized hostages inside Israel.
Global values under strain
International press freedom groups, including RSF and CPJ, issued an open letter earlier this year describing the constant risks faced by Palestinian journalists and the pressure they work under. Amnesty International has said the combined effect of killings and reporting restrictions has left the world with only fragments of what is happening in Gaza.
For many, the war has become a test of global values. Nations frequently affirm their support for protecting journalists and upholding civilian safety in war, yet the figures from Gaza suggest those commitments carry little weight in practice. The conflict has raised uncomfortable questions about whether international rules designed to protect reporters in battlefields still hold meaning when political priorities take precedence.
Al Jazeera has published the names of every journalist and media worker killed in Gaza since the war began.
See the list here.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.
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