The death toll of journalists killed whilst covering the Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 79 in the space of two months.
The first member of Israel’s Foreign Press Association was killed on 15 December – veteran Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence force is facing international condemnation after Reuters revealed that its journalist Issam Abdallah was killed by an Israeli tank crew whilst reporting from inside Lebanon.
A Reuters report has concluded that Abdallah was killed, and six journalist colleagues injured, whilst reporting a kilometre away from the Israeli border on 13 October. An Israeli tank crew fired two shells at them in quick succession.
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As of 8 January, at least 72 journalists have been killed covering the conflict, according to a count by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The dead are believed to include 57 Palestinians, four Israeli journalists and three Lebanese.
Many of the Palestinian journalists who have died were killed in airstrikes alongside multiple family members.
Al Jazeera Media Network, which has also been facing attempts by Israel to shut down its local bureau, said it was “deeply concerned about the safety, and well-being of our colleagues in Gaza and hold the Israeli authorities responsible for their security”.
Other threats to journalists and newsgathering
According to the International Federation of Journalists, Israeli airstrikes completely or partially destroyed Al-Ayyam newspaper, Gaza FM, the headquarters of Shehab news agency and the offices of Palestinian news agency Ma’an among other media outlets.
A team from BBC Arabic were “stopped and assaulted” by Israeli police in Tel Aviv on 12 October, according to the broadcaster.
Their car was marked with red “TV” tape and the journalists showed their press cards, but one of the journalists, Muhannad Tutunji, said he was hit on the neck and his phone was taken and thrown on the ground. “Journalists must be able to report on the conflict in Israel-Gaza freely,” a BBC spokesperson said.
The following summary of media casualties is per the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), with other sources included where possible.
The current conflict in Israel is the most deadly for journalists covering conflict since the CPJ began tracking casualties in 1992. It quickly overtook the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, and has so far seen 15 journalists and media workers killed.
Journalists killed during the Israel-Hamas war
7 January 2024
Hamza Al Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh, was killed in an Israeli drone strike. Hamza was working as a camera operator for Al Jazeera himself. Wael has already suffered the loss of his wife and two other children in an Israeli air raid on 25 October and was wounded himself in a strike on 15 December that also killed colleague and camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa.
Mustafa Thuraya, a freelance videographer reportedly working for AFP, was killed in the same strike as Hamza Al Dahdouh. The pair were driving to an assignment in southern Gaza at the time.
Al Jazeera “strongly condemns” what it described as the “targeting” of the pair’s car. It said: “The Israeli occupation forces has systematically targeted our colleague Wael Al Dahdoh and his family, killing his wife, son, daughter, and grandson in November 2023. Wael and his colleague, the late Samer Abu Daqqa, cameraman, were also targeted in December 2023.
“The assassination of his son Hamza in January 2024 confirms without a doubt the Israeli forces’ determination continue these brutal attacks against journalists and their families, aiming to discourage them from performing their mission, violating the principles of freedom of the press and undermines the right to life.
“Al Jazeera condemns, in the strongest terms, the ongoing crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces against journalists and media professionals in Gaza.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an independent investigation into whether the pair of journalists were deliberately targeted. Press freedom groups including Article 19 have also called for an International Criminal Court investigation into the killings of journalists in Gaza.
29 December
Jabr Abu Hadrous, a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Quds Al-Youm broadcaster, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home along with seven members of his family, according to the CPJ.
28 December
Mohamed Khaireddine, who worked for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home along with 12 members of his family including his nephew Ahmed Khaireddine, a cameraman for the Hamas-affiliated Quds Al-Youm.
24 December
Mohamad Al-Iff, a photographer for the Hamas government-owned local newspaper and news agency Al-Rai, and his cousin Mohamed Azzaytouniyah, a sound engineer for the same outlet, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City alongside an unspecified number of family members.
Ahmad Jamal Al Madhoun, deputy director and director of visual content at Al-Rai, was also killed in an airstrike on northern Gaza.
23 December
Mohamed Naser Abu Huwaidi, a 29-year-old working for the privately-owned Al-Istiklal newspaper, was killed in an airstrike in northern Gaza while covering the aftermath of previous strikes.
22 December
Mohamed Khalifeh, a director at the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel, was killed in an airstrike on his home in a central Gaza refugee camp alongside his wife and three of his children.
19 December
Adel Zorob, a freelance journalist who worked with outlets including the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, was killed in an airstrike on his home in Rafah, southern Gaza, alongside 25 family members.
18 December
Abdallah Alwan, who contributed to multiple outlets including Al Jazeera, was killed in an airstrike on his home.
17 December
Assem Kamal Moussa, who reported for the privately-owned news website Palestine Now, was killed in a strike on Khan Yunis.
Haneen Kashtan, who contributed to local TV channels, was killed in a strike on a northern Gaza refugee camp along with family members.
15 December
Al Jazeera’s longtime camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa was killed by Israeli drone fire at a school in Khan Younis where residents were sheltering.
His colleague Wael Al-Dahdouh, whose wife and children were killed in an Israeli air raid on 25 October, was wounded in the arm and waist in the same strike as Abu Daqqa. But while Al-Dahdouh was able to be transported to the hospital, Abu Daqqa was unable to be moved for medical care and could not be reached for hours by first responders, according to Israel’s Foreign Press Association.
The FPA said the 45-year-old father of four, who had worked for Al Jazeera since 2004, was its first member to be killed in Gaza in the war. “We consider this a grave blow to the already limited freedom of the press in Gaza and call on the army for a prompt investigation and explanation,” it said.
Al Jazeera said it “deems this incident a deliberate attempt to target its correspondents and their families in the besieged Gaza Strip”.
Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Moawad said: “His unwavering commitment to truth and storytelling has left an indelible mark on our team. Samer, whose lens captured the raw and unfiltered reality of life in Gaza, was not just a skilled professional but a compassionate soul who understood the power of visual storytelling. His courage in the face of adversity allowed the world to witness the untold stories of a region grappling with complex challenges.
“In the pursuit of truth, our cameraman faced immense risks to bring viewers a deeper understanding of the human experience in Gaza. His lens became a window into the lives of those affected by conflict, shedding light on stories that needed to be told.”
9 December
Palestinian freelance journalist Ola Atallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a building where she and her family were taking refuge, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate. Nine members of her family were reportedly also killed.
3 December
Hassan Farajallah of Al-Quds TV was killed in an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the International Federation of Journalists.
Shaima El-Gazzar, a Palestinian journalist for Al-Majedat network, was killed along with her family members in an Israeli airstrike on Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes and the Cairo-based media outlet Darb.
1 December
Abdullah Darwish, a Palestinian cameraman forAl-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Montaser Al-Sawaf, a Palestinian cameraman for Anadolu Agency, was killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, as confirmed by Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Adham Hassouna, a Palestinian freelance journalist and media professor at Gaza and Al-Aqsa universities, was killed, along with several members of his family in an Israeli airstrike in the city of Gaza, as reported by the Ramallah-based Palestinian news network SHFA and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
24 November
Mostafa Bakeer, a Palestinian journalist and cameraperson for Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa radio, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
23 November
Mohamed Mouin Ayyash, a Palestinian journalist and a freelance photographer, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, along with 20 members of his family, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
22 November
Mohamed Nabil Al-Zaq, a Palestinian journalist and a social media manager for Al-Quds TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Shejaiya in northern Gaza, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, the Ramallah-based news website Wattan TV, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
21 November
Two Lebanese journalists for the TV channel Al-Mayadeen, reporter Farah Omar and cameraman Al Maamari, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Tayr Harfa area of southern Lebanon near the border with Israel.
This is reported to have been their final live broadcast, an hour before their deaths:
20 November
Palestinian freelance journalist and podcast presenter Ayat Khadoura was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home in northern Gaza along with an unknown number of her family members.
Alaa Taher Al-Hassanat, a presenter for AlMajedat Media Network, was killed with multiple members of her family in an airstrike on her home.
19 November
Belal Jadallah, director of Press House-Palestine, a non-profit that supports independent Palestinian media, was killed in his car in an airstrike. A senior member of the International Red Cross said Jadallah was “known as the ‘godfather of Palestinian journalists’, and indeed trained a generation of journalists in Gaza”.
18 November
Abdelhalim Awad, a Palestinian media worker and driver for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in a strike on his home. A colleague told CPJ Awad had been working full-time since the war broke out in the city of Khan Yunis but had left to visit his family.
Friends and colleagues Sari Mansour, director of the Quds News Network, and Hassouneh Salim, freelance photojournalist, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Mostafa El Sawaf, a writer and analyst who contributed to the local news website MSDR News, was killed in an airstrike on his home in Gaza City along with his wife and two of his sons.
Amro Salah Abu Hayah, who worked in the broadcast department of Al-Aqsa, was killed in a strike.
Photographer Mossab Ashour was killed in an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Monday 13 November
Ahmed Fatima, a photographer/cameraman for Egypt-based Al Qahera News TV and a media worker with Press House Palestine, died apparently while covering the situation near the Al-Shifa Hospital. A boss at the TV network posted that they had “lost communication” with the crew and another team member was injured in the strike.
Yaacoub Al-Barsh, executive director of Namaa Radio, was killed in an airstrike on his home.
10 November
Photojournalist Ahmed Al-Qara was killed in an airstrike in a town east of Khan Yunis.
7 November
Mohammad Abu Hasira, who worked for Wafa news agency, died in an attack on his home alongside 42 family members.
Al-Aqsa radio journalist Yahya Abu Manih was also killed in an airstrike.
5 November
Muhammad Al Jaja, who worked for non-profit institute Press House Palestine which owns Sawa news agency in Gaza and promotes press freedom, was killed along with his wife and two daughters in an airstrike on their home.
2 November
Palestine TV correspondent Mohammed Abu Hatab was killed with 11 members of his family in a strike on their home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
He was reporting for the channel until hours before his death:
1 November
Journalist Majd Fadl Arandas who worked for the news website Al-Jamaheer was killed in a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Fellow journalist Iyad Matar, who worked for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed alongside his mother in an airstrike.
31 October
Two Palestine TV colleagues died alongside their families in an Israeli airstrike, the channel said.
According to CPJ Imad Al-Wahidi was a media worker and administrator for the channel, while Majed Kashko was a media worker and its office director.
30 October
Several sources reported the death of journalist Nazmi Al-Nadim alongside his family in an airstrike in eastern Gaza. Al-Nadim reportedly worked for Palestine TV, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists as its deputy director of finance and administration.
27 October
Al-Sahel journalist Yasser Abu Namous and his mother were killed in an airstrike in the west of Khan Younis, according to multiple sources including Al Jazeera.
26 October
Voice of Al-Aqsa radio host Duaa Sharaf was killed alongside her child in a missile strike on her home in Gaza, Middle East Monitor reported.
25 October
Two Al-Aqsa journalists were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on the same day: Saed Al-Halabi and Ahmed Abu Mhadi.
Freelance journalist Salma Mkhaimer was also killed in an airstrike alongside her child.
23 October
Mohammed Imad Labad, a journalist for the Al Resalah news website, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.
22 October
Palestinian jourlist Roshdi Sarraj, founder of agency Ain Media, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Tel Al Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City, according to Radio France.
Sarraj had been working as a fixer for Radio France correspondents since May 2021. The station said he “played a crucial role in our information mission” and was an “outstanding journalist”.
One of Sarraj’s final tweets, posted on 17 October, said: “A lack of media coverage from Gaza .. due to the killing [of] more than 12 journalists, the bombing, and the blackout of electricity and the Internet. However, we are still trying to withstand and continue coverage so the world can see the israili [sic] crimes in Gaza.”
20 October
Al-Shabab (youth) Radio journalist Mohammed Ali was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the northern Gaza Strip.
19 October
Khalil Abu Aathra, a videographer for the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV, was killed with his brother in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah.
18 October
Sameeh Al-Nady, also a journalist for Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
17 October
Mohammad Balousha, who worked for Palestine Today, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Saftawi neighbourhood in northern Gaza, the Turkey-based Anadoula agency reported.
Issam Bhar, a journalist for Al Aqsa TV, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza.
16 October
Abdulhadi Habib, who worked for Al-Manara News Agency and HQ News Agency, was killed in a missile strike on his home in the south of Gaza City alongside several members of his family.
14 October
Yousef Maher Dawas, a contributing writer for Palestine Chronicle and a writer for Palestinian non-profit project We Are Not Numbers, was killed in an Israeli missile strike on his family home.
13 October
Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah was killed in southern Lebanon in a missile strike from the direction of Israel, according to the news agency.
A further six journalists – two colleagues each from Reuters, Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse (AFP) – were injured in the strike.
Abdallah and the other journalists had been providing a live video feed of clashes on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Israel’s UN envoy Gilad Erdan said in a briefing, reported by Reuters, on Friday: “Obviously, we would never want to hit or kill or shoot any journalist that is doing its job. But you know, we’re in a state of war, things might happen.” An Israeli military spokesperson later said they were “very sorry” for Abdallah’s death.
Abdallah, who was Lebanese, was laid to rest in his hometown on Saturday surrounded by dozens of journalists.
Also on Friday, Husam Mubarak, a journalist for Hamas-run channel Al Aqsa, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip.
12 October
Ahmed Shehab, a journalist for Radio Voice of the Prisoners, was killed along with his wife and three children when an airstrike hit their house in northern Gaza Strip, according to the CPJ.
11 October
Mohammad Fayez Abu Matar was killed whilst covering the Israeli bombing of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. He is a freelance journalist working with international agencies, according to WAFA news agency.
10 October
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate reported the killing of Mohammed Rizq Sobh (photojournalist), Saeed Al-Taweel (director of the Al-Khamisa news agency) and Hisham Al-Nawajha (correspondent for a news agency in Gaza). They are believed to have all died when Israel bombed the Al Hajji Tower on Al-Mu’asasat Street, west of Gaza City.
Video of the funeral of Al-Taweel and Rizq Sobh has been shared on Twitter by Palestine Online. It shows more than a dozen journalists wearing blue body protector vests marked with press carrying their bodies and flanking the funeral procession.
Palestinian journalists in Gaza take part in the funeral of their fellow Saed Al-Taweel and Mohammed Soboh, who were murdered in an Israeli airstrike targeting a street containing press offices in Gaza City last night. pic.twitter.com/WPlOOe6jQD
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) October 10, 2023
9 October
Journalist Salam Mema was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, and her body was pulled out of the rubble four days later. Her eldest son, aged six, was also killed, while the rescue operation for her daughter is ongoing and her other son survived. Mema was a freelance journalist who was the head of the Women Journalists Committee at the Palestinian Media Assembly.
8 October
Assaad Shamlakh was killed along with nine members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in the southern Gaza strip, BBC Arabic has reported.
7 October
Roee Idan, a photographer for Israeli news website Ynet, was killed in the Hamas terrorist attack. The 43-year-old captured the early moments of the invasion as terrorists paraglided across the border and sent his footage to Ynet before he was shot and killed, according to The Times of Israel. His wife and one of their children were also killed in the attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Idan’s body was found more than ten days later. Ynet editor Gido Ran said the news was “hard for us to accept”. “We lost a journalist with a rare eye and an unstoppable desire to get close to the story. He will be missed by us forever.”
Palestinian photojournalist Mohammad Al-Salhi was killed by an Israeli army bullet while covering events at the border east of al-Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip.
Yaniv Zohar, a photographer for the Israel Hayom daily newspaper, was killed alongside his wife and two daughters when Hamas terrorists attacked Kibbutz Nahal Oz, Israel National News reported. Zohar was formerly a videojournalist for the Associated Press at its Israel bureau for 15 years from 2005 to 2020 and the agency’s executive editor Julie Pace described him as “AP’s eyes and ears in southern Israel, always among the first to respond to news in the busy region.
““He was a part of the community where he worked, giving him insights that were invaluable to his colleagues. When tensions rose in the Middle East, colleagues would quickly ask, ‘What does Yaniv say?’”
Mahammad Jarghoun, a journalist with Smart Media, was shot dead apparently by Israeli forces whilst reporting east of Bureij near the border with Israel according to WAFA news agency.
Ibrahim Lafi, 21, from Ain Media news agency was shot dead by Israeli forces reporting near the Beit Hanoun checkpoint on the border with Israel.
Shai Regev, 25, an editor for the gossip and entertainment news section of Hebrew-language daily newspaper Ma’ariv, was killed during the Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival. Ma’ariv editor-in-chief Golan Bar-Yosef said Regev was “talented, creative and full of love” while friend and TMI colleague Noa Rachamim said their staff were “struggling to accept and absorb this horrible news about the death of our Shai, who was a major pillar of all TMI activities and our success”.
Also killed at Supernova was 22-year-old Ayelet Arnin, a news editor with the Kan public broadcaster. Kan said in a statement: “Ayelet started working for us a year ago and was the epitome of professionalism and diligence, and always strived for perfection in her work and was very much loved by all of us.” Arnin previously worked as a news editor for the IDF’s Army Radio.
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