“The Most Dangerous Time” Committee of the Protection of Journalists says the deadliest year after 2024
A new report from the Commission on Protecting Journalists said Wednesday that a record-breaking journalist journalist was killed worldwide in 2024.
According to the report's findings, Israel killed nearly 70% of people in the past year, with the second highest death toll in Sudan and Pakistan.
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Commission on Protecting Journalists (CPJ), said this was “the most dangerous time to become a journalist in CPJ’s history.”
“The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a significant deterioration in global norms in protecting journalists in conflict areas,” Ginsburg said in a statement on Wednesday. It is far from the only journalist at risk.”
The committee's report said at least 124 journalists from different countries were killed last year, marking the deadliest year for journalists and media workers since CPJ began collecting data and recording it to more than 30 years ago. Year.
Compared with previous years, the number of journalists and media workers killed in 2024 has risen sharply. According to the report, 102 people died in 2023 and 69 people died in 2022.
The previous high death toll was in 2007, when 113 journalists were killed, almost half of the deaths due to the Iraq War, CPJ said.
85 journalists killed in Israeli attacks in 2024
The Israel-Gaza war has accounted for 85 journalists’ deaths, including 82 in Gaza and three in Lebanon (nearly two-thirds or 70%) at the hands of the Israeli military in 2024. The committee said that the previous year was Gaza.
The committee accused Israel of trying to kill the investigation, shifting blame to journalists while ignoring its responsibility to put people in charge of the murders.
When asked to comment, the Israeli military said there was no sufficient information on the alleged incidents so they could not be checked, adding that this took all possible measures to mitigate harm to journalists and civilians.
The military said: “The Israel Defense Force will never deliberately target journalists.”
CPJ said at least six journalists and media workers have been killed since the beginning of the year.
Media workers 'increasing risk' to journalists: Report
Sudan and Pakistan were killed in 2024 Israel's second highest journalist.
Thousands of civilians were killed and millions were displaced in the brutal civil war in Sudan. Three journalists were found killed for work and are investigating the motive for the killing of the fourth place, CPJ said. It also documented the killings of two media workers.
It said that although the country has not died since 2021, six journalists have been killed in Pakistan.
“All killings in 2024 show an increased danger faced by journalists and media workers, as well as a threat to global information flows,” the report said on Wednesday.
Diaa al-Staz said his work has targeted him and his colleagues, and the International Federation of Journalists reported this month that at least 152 journalists died in the covered war.
CPJ said it had recorded “the number of target kills was shocking”, adding that at least 24 journalists were intentionally killed due to work last year, including Haiti, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan and elsewhere. It said it has recorded at least 10 Israeli targeted homicide cases.
The committee said it is also investigating 20 other killings, which believe Israel may target journalists.
Freelancer death
Another figure that saw an increase in death toll last year is the number of freelancers killed in conflict areas.
The report said that the 43 journalists and media workers killed in 2024 (more than a third) are freelancers.
“Another grim new record of self-employed people in the media is often at the greatest risk because they have the least resources,” it said.
Among them, 31 freelancers were killed in Gaza, rising from the age of 14 in 2023.
Gaza journalists are the only media in the war-torn territory, providing key coverage to global media (including CBC News) over the last 16 months of war, as foreign media members are banned from entering unless accessed by strictly controlled access. Israeli army.
A phased ceasefire between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel began on January 19 but is currently in danger. According to Israeli Tales (Israeli), Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attack, with 1,200 killed and 251 taken hostages.
More than 48,000 people were killed in retaliatory attacks in Israel, according to Palestinian health authorities.
A peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet On January 9, official death toll in Gaza may be significantly underestimated. On June 30, 2024, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported 37,877 deaths; the study estimated that by that date, the number could be around 64,200.
CPJ said its method of recording the way journalists killed in their databases is whether it has reasonable reasons to believe they may be killed in their work: accidental killing in conflict areas or in dangerous tasks, or intentional killing. Dead, or killed for their work.
The report also noted that the killings were “not the only indicator of a dangerous media landscape”, adding that in 2024 there were no journalists killed in Somalia, Cameroon or Afghanistan, but journalists still face other pressures, such as reported arrests, Attack and censorship.
