The International Press Institute (IPI) global network is horrified by the continually growing death toll suffered by journalists and civilians amid Israel- Gaza war. It strongly urged Israel to uphold journalists’ rights to cover the conflict in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law, and to protect the safety of reporters, media workers and their families.
As many as 50 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, according to (IPI) date – a harrowing figure that demands immediate action to protect the safety of journalists and other civilians.
The vast majority of the journalists included in IPI’s data were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. IPI’s tally includes both journalists killed while on assignment as well as journalists who are among the civilian casualties of missile strikes and other attacks. Of the 50 killed journalists and media personnel, at least 11 were killed on assignment.
Over 100 journalists have been injured while more than 30 have been detained, according to figures by local monitoring groups. Of the 50 killed journalists, the vast majority were Palestinians. Since October 7, four Israeli and three Lebanese journalists have also been killed.
“The killings of 50 journalists and media workers since October 7, mostly inside Gaza, is a horrific statistic that lays bare the suffering of civilians as part of this war – a category that includes journalists”, IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said.
“We deplore the killings of all journalists and innocent civilians and reiterate our call first for immediate measures by warring parties to take all necessary steps to uphold journalist safety and second for all killings of journalists to be investigated by international teams.”
He added: “Amid an information blackout and the barring of international journalists from entering Gaza, the world depends heavily on Palestinian journalists for coverage of the war. We stand behind all of them in their incredible courage as they seek to document this war for the world. We also demand that Israel allow international journalists to enter Gaza and report freely from the territory.”
