The Israel-Gaza war has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7 and Israel declared war on the militant Palestinian group, launching strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing in the war, which has led to the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
As of March 28, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 95 journalists and media workers were among the more than 33,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 32,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters and Agence France Press news agencies in October that it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, after they had sought assurances that their journalists would not be targeted by Israeli strikes, according to a Reuters report.
Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict during the Israeli ground assault, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages, and extensive power outages.
As of March 28:
CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes.
“CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats. Many have lost colleagues, families, and media facilities, and have fled seeking safety when there is no safe haven or exit.”
The list published here includes names based on information obtained from CPJ’s sources in the region and media reports. It includes all journalists* involved in news-gathering activity. It is unclear whether all of these journalists were covering the conflict at the time of their deaths, but CPJ has included them in our count as we investigate their circumstances. The list is being updated on a regular basis.
March 5, 2024
Muhammad Salama
Salama, a Palestinian journalist who worked as a host for the Hamas affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel, was killed with his family in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, according to several media reports, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Turkish owned Anadolu Agency.
CPJ wasn’t immediately able to specify the number of family members killed with Salama. A report by the Qatari funded Al-Araby TV in the area showed damage from the airstrikes on the residential area, and Al-Araby’s reporter on the ground, Bassel Khalaf, said at least 6 people were pulled from under the rubble, while others remain missing. A witness in the area told the channel that the family was having dinner when they were killed.
According to Al-Aqsa Voice radio and the Egypt based Al-Bawaba News, Salama was buried in Gaza on March 6, 2024.
February 23, 2024
Mohamed Yaghi
Yaghi, a 30-year-old freelance photojournalist who worked with multiple media outlets, including Al-Jazeera, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Az-Zawayda town in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, along with 36 family members, including his wife and daughter, according to Al-Jazeera, the International Federation of Journalists, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
February 15, 2024
Zayd Abu Zayed
Abu Zayed, a 35-year-old director of the local Quran Radio channel, which is owned by the Islamic University of Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, according to the Qatar funded Al-Araby TV, the Palestinian Authority run news agency Wafa, and the Turkish Anadolu Agency.
February 12, 2024
Alaa Al-Hams
Al-Hams, a 35-year-old Palestinian journalist for the local Palestinian News Agency SND succumbed to her injuries after being seriously wounded in an Israeli airstrike on her family house in Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip, which resulted in the tragic loss of ten members of her family on December 2, 2023, according to Palestine Chronicle, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), and the Cairo-Based Ahram online.
Angam Ahmad Edwan
Edwan, a Palestinian journalist who worked for the Libyan TV channel February, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home in Jabalia city, northern Gaza Strip, according to her channel, the Cairo-Based Ahram online , the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, and Palestine Chronicle.
February 11, 2024
Yasser Mamdouh El-Fady
Mamdouh El-Fady, a 40-year-old journalist for the Islamic Jihad affiliated Kan’an news agency, was killed by an Israeli sniper at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, according to multiple media reports, and the Beirut based press freedom group SKeyes.
February 8, 2024
Nafez Abdel Jawad
Abdel Jawad, a Palestinian director for the official Palestine Television station, Palestine TV, was killed along with his son in an Israeli missile strike on the house they were staying in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Additionally, the missile killed 14 people, including 5 children, according to CNN, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), and the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency. Responding to an inquiry from CNN on the killing of Abdel Jawad, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that it “takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians, including journalists. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.” They added that they are not aware of any strikes at these coordinates.
February 6, 2024
Rizq Al-Gharabli
Al-Gharabli, a 40-year-old director of the Hamas affiliated Palestinian Information Center, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his family’s home in Khan Yunis, according to media reports, the Palestinian Information Center, SKeyes, and Wafa.
The Palestinian Information Center said that Al-Gharabli was its Gaza office director since 2015, and worked as a writer and editor until his death.
January 29, 2024
Mohammed Atallah
Atallah, a 24-year-old Palestinian editor for the local Al-Resalah news website and a writer for the regional independent website Raseef22, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beach refugee camp in northern Gaza City, along with an unidentified number of family members, according to a tweet by Raseef22 that included his last voice message, the local news agency Safa, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Ayman Sharrouf, Raseef22’s political editor, told CPJ that Atallah “wrote for Raseef22 under his name and another pseudonym. He was particularly interested in the daily life stories of the Gazans, despite the siege on Gaza, the corruption, and the narrow political interests in the strip. When the war started, we started collaborating, and he wrote 3 pieces, but he lived in the north where there was intense bombing, and one of the Israeli airstrikes hit his parents’ house, which killed one of his brothers and all of his family members.”
Sharrouf told CPJ that “Atallah evacuated after surviving a lot of near-death situations. In his last correspondence with us, he told me that he’s safe and he wants to resume working soon, but I later learned about his death from the news.” Sharrouf added, “Mohammed was a very professional journalist. He wanted to relay the voices of the people. He worked hard on his pieces and was very keen on factual reporting of the daily life of Gaza’s people, despite all the challenges that a journalist like him faces. Unfortunately, he was killed before he got to do what he wanted in journalism; and the most horrific heartbreaking part was that he thought he would survive.”
January 25, 2024
Iyad El-Ruwagh
El-Ruwagh, a Palestinian journalist who worked as a host for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat camp in northern Gaza, along with four of his children, according to multiple media reports, a tweet by his outlet, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes.
El-Ruwagh was buried on January 26, according to Al-Jazeera. Prior to his death, he posted on Facebook about his family’s dire conditions, asking for someone who was leaving Gaza to take his toddler to his wife, who fled to Sinai, Egypt, with his son Mohamed following a previous airstrike that severely injured him. After El-Ruwagh’s death, his wife published Facebook posts about him and her slain children: Loay, Nada, Yazan, and the toddler, Ahmed.
January 14, 2024
Yazan al-Zuweidi
Al-Zuweidi, a Palestinian journalist and camera operator for the privately owned Cairo-based broadcaster Al-Ghad, was killed, along with his brother and cousin, in an Israeli airstrike on Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza while on his way to see what had happened to his home in the aftermath of heavy bombing, according to his employer, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, The New Arab, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Al-Zuweidi, 27, had been working with Al-Ghad for six years, and covered the war and various other events in Gaza, according to the broadcaster. Al-Ghad said that Al-Zuweidi didn’t stop reporting on the ongoing war; he kept filming from northern Gaza and sending footage to the channel after it was impossible for him to evacuate south to Rafah.
January 11, 2024
Mohamed Jamal Sobhi Al-Thalathini
Al-Thalathini, a Palestinian journalist who worked for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds Al-Youm broadcaster, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in south Gaza, according to the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, the Palestinian Authority-run broadcaster Palestine Today, and the Qatari-funded newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
January 10, 2024
Ahmed Bdeir
Bdeir, a Palestinian journalist working for the local news website Bawabat al-Hadaf, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, close to the Aqsa Martyrs hospital. Bdeir was standing in front of the journalists’ tent at the hospital gate and died when a shrapnel hit him, according to Al-Jazeera, The New Arab, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes. His outlet said that he worked relentlessly during the war to cover the news. Bawabat al-Hadaf is affiliated with The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
January 9, 2024
Heba Al-Abadla
Al-Abadla, a 30-year-old journalist and host for the local Al-Azhar radio station, owned by Al-Azhar University in Gaza, and the co-founder of the Social Media Club-Palestine, was killed along with her daughter Judy and several family members in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Yunis, according to media reports, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the New Arab, Wafa, and SKeyes.
At Social Media Club-Palestine, Al-Abadla held training and conferences on technology related matters, including content writing and journalism.
January 8, 2024
Abdallah Iyad Breis
Breis, a 26-year-old journalist who led the photography section for the Rawafed educational channel, owned by the Hamas government’s ministry of education, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Khan Yunis, according to media reports, SKeyes, and Wafa.
January 7, 2024
Hamza Al Dahdouh
Al Dahdouh, a Palestinian journalist and camera operator for Al-Jazeera, and the son of Al-Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh, was killed in an Israeli drone strike along with freelance journalist Mustafa Thuraya, according to Al-Jazeera Arabic. They were driving to an assignment in southern Gaza when the strike occurred, according to Al-Jazeera and the BBC.
Mustafa Thuraya
Thuraya, a Palestinian freelance videographer working for Agence France-Presse (AFP), was killed in an Israeli drone strike along with Al-Jazeera journalist Hamza Al Dahdouh, according to Al-Jazeera Arabic. They were driving to an assignment in southern Gaza when the strike occurred, according to Al-Jazeera, BBC, and AFP.
January 5, 2024
Akram ElShafie
ElShafie, a Palestinian journalist working as a reporter and editor for the Palestinian press agency Safa died after sustaining injuries months before on October 30, from an Israeli bullet, according to his outlet Safa, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), and Al-Jazeera. PJS said in a statement that ElShafie required medical attention after sustaining the life-threatening injury, and that it submitted a request to evacuate the journalists from Gaza for that purpose, but it was declined by Israel, according to the syndicate. The syndicate also stated that 25 journalists in Gaza are injured and require immediate medical attention.
Safa said that ElShafie, 53, was injured badly by Israeli bullets when he was on his way to check up on his house, and that he spent the last two months in hospitals. It added that ElShafie started working with Safa in 2019, and that the last report he wrote was about the cooperation and solidarity between Gazan refugees in the war.
December 29, 2023
Jabr Abu Hadrous
Abu Hadrous, a Palestinian journalist and a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Quds Al-Youm broadcaster, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp, northern Gaza, along with seven members of his family, according to Al-Jazeera, Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen, and the privately owned government-affiliated Al-Ghad newspaper in Jordan.
December 28, 2023
Ahmed Khaireddine
Khaireddine, a Palestinian journalist and a cameraman for the Hamas-affiliated Quds Al-Youm TV, and a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Quds feed, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his family home in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, along with 12 family members, including his uncle Mohamed Khaireddine, according to the Palestinian Authority-run broadcaster Palestine Today, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and Al-Jazeera.
Khaireddine’s brother, Basil, who was a reporter for the Palestine Today broadcaster, spoke about his brother’s killing to the channel, in a video that spread virally. Basil said that Ahmed wanted to take a day off work for the first time in 82 days and didn’t want to leave the house to report when Basil asked him to go with him, adding: “He wanted to rest, but apparently his rest was forever.”
December 24, 2023
Mohamad Al-Iff
Al-Iff, a Palestinian journalist and photographer for the Hamas government-owned local newspaper and news agency Al-Rai, was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, northern Gaza, along with an unspecified number of family members, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network. Al-Iff’s cousin, journalist Mohamed Azzaytouniyah, was killed in the same strikes, according to a tweet by Al-Iff’s cousin Hammam.
Mohamed Azzaytouniyah
Azzaytouniyah, a Palestinian media worker and a sound engineer for the Hamas government-owned local radio Al-Rai was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, northern Gaza, along with unspecified number of family members including his father, according to a tweet by his brother Hammam, the outlet, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network. His cousin, journalist Mohamad Al-Iff, was killed in the same strikes.
Ahmad Jamal Al Madhoun
Al Madhoun, a Palestinian journalist and deputy director of the Hamas government-owned local newspaper and news agency Al-Rai and the director of visual content at the agency, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and Anadolu Agency.
December 23, 2023
Mohamed Naser Abu Huwaidi
Abu Huwaidi, a 29-year-old Palestinian journalist working for the privately owned Al-Istiklal newspaper, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Shajaiah area in northern Gaza while covering the aftermath of the airstrikes, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and the Cairo-based independent website Daaarb.
December 22, 2023
Mohamed Khalifeh
Khalifeh, a media worker and director at the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, along his wife and three of his children, according to his outlet, Anadolu Agency, the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV, and the privately owned news channel Al-Ghad TV.
December 19, 2023
Adel Zorob
Zorob, a Palestinian freelance journalist who worked with multiple media outlets, including the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Rafah, southern Gaza, along with 25 family members, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Middle East Eye, the Palestinian Authority-run news agency Wafa, and the independent Wattan news agency.
Zorob posted Gaza war news on his Facebook page and on WhatsApp news groups. The last news message was sent directly before his death, according to a WhatsApp screenshot CPJ viewed. The Zorob family were among the few Palestinians in Gaza who remained in their own homes in a war that has displaced some 1.9 million people — more than 80% of the territory’s population, according to the Associated Press.
December 18, 2023
Abdallah Alwan
Alwan, a Palestinian media worker and voice-over specialist who contributed to multiple media outlets including the Al-Jazeera owned platform Midan, Mugtama magazine, and Al-Jazeera, and was a radio host for the Islamic University’s Holy Quran Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Jabalia, according to his outlet Midan, the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Radio, the local Palestinian newspaper Al-Hadath, and Amman-based Roya TV. In his last Facebook post on December 17, Alwan wrote that “On every morning, we say that last night was the worst night in the war… All days are worse than each other. This briefly describes the war.” On November 30, Alwan posted photos of damage to his home by Israeli bombing, saying two of his nieces were killed in the strikes.
December 17, 2023
Assem Kamal Moussa
Moussa, a Palestinian journalist who produced visual and written news reports for the local privately owned news website Palestine Now, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to his outlet, Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa radio channel.
Haneen Kashtan
Kashtan, a Palestinian journalist who contributed to multiple media outlets including the local Fatah-affiliated Al-Kofiya TV and the local privately owned Baladna TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp in northern Gaza, along with other family members, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Al-Jazeera, and the Cairo-based Youm7.
December 15, 2023
Samer Abu Daqqa
Abu Daqqa, a camera operator for Al-Jazeera Arabic, was killed by a drone strike while covering the aftermath of nightly Israeli strikes on a United Nations school sheltering displaced people in the center of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to Al-Jazeera and Reuters news agency. He was trapped with other injured people in the school, which was surrounded by Israeli forces, and was unable to be evacuated for treatment. His colleague, Al-Jazeera bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh, was injured in the same strike.
December 9, 2023
Duaa Jabbour
Jabbour, a Palestinian freelance journalist who worked with the local website Eyes Media Network, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home along with her husband and children in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, Anadolu Agency, and the Qatar-funded London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. In her last Facebook post, Jabbour wrote: “To survive everyday is exhausting.”
Ola Atallah
Atallah, a Palestinian freelance journalist who contributed to multiple media outlets, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the house in which she and her family were taking refuge, in the El-Daraj area of Gaza City, northern Gaza, according to Arabi 21, Anadolu Agency, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate. Those sources said that Atallah was killed with nine members of her family, including her brother and her uncles.
On November 27, Atallah wrote an article for the Al-Morasel website about life in Gaza during the war, describing the destruction and damage to her neighborhood and city. Atallah worked as a reporter for Anadolu Agency until 2017. Atallah was well-known on social media, and her last tweet on December 8 asked, “How many more nights of terror and death does Gaza have to count?”
December 3, 2023
Hassan Farajallah
Farajallah, who held a senior position with the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds TV, was killed by 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, El-Gazzar was killed along with her family members in an Israeli airstrike on Rafah city, southern Gaza, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes and the Cairo-based media outlet Darb.
December 1, 2023
Abdullah Darwish
A Palestinian cameraman for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Darwish 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
Al-Sawaf, a Palestinian cameraman for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, was killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, according to Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Adham Hassouna
Hassouna, a Palestinian freelance journalist and media professor at Gaza and Al-Aqsa universities, was killed, along with several family members in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian news network SHF, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
November 24, 2023
Mostafa Bakeer
Bakeer, a Palestinian journalist and cameraperson for the Hamas-affiliated 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.
November 23, 2023
Mohamed Mouin Ayyash
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.
November 22, 2023
Assem Al-Barsh
Al-Barsh, a sound engineer working for the Gaza’s Hamas government owned Al-Rai radio and freelancing for other local radio stations, was shot dead by Israeli sniper fire when he was on his way home on November 22, 2023, in the Al-Saftawi area north of Gaza City, according to news reports and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
According to a news report by Radio An-Naja7, Al-Barsh helped Radio An-Naja7 develop a podcast entitled “The Identity Podcast” that focuses on the values of dialogue and cultural and religious diversity in the Arab world. In the days prior to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, Al-Barsh set up a small radio studio at his home, where he was a sound engineer for the podcast.
In 2021, Al-Barsh also hosted and produced the program “With You” for Radio Namaa, during which listeners could dedicate songs or send greetings to friends or loved ones.
Mohamed Nabil Al-Zaq
Al-Zaq, a Palestinian journalist and a social media manager for the Hamas-affiliated 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.
November 21, 2023
Jamal Mohamed Haniyeh
Haniyeh, a reporter for the sports news website Amwaj, was killed along with other family members and in-laws in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Gaza City, according to news reports and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
According to the same reports, Haniyeh was the grandson of Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh and also worked as a radio engineer. Haniyeh covered the football league in Gaza, as well as other stories, including the visit by Abdel Salam Haniyeh, the assistant secretary of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, to the injured journalist Ashraf Abu Amra while he was receiving medical treatment in Turkey for injuries suffered in September 2023 while covering a Gaza border protest.
Farah Omar
Omar, a Lebanese reporter for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV channel, was killed by an Israeli strike in the Tayr Harfa area in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel, according to Al-Mayadeen, Al-Jazeera, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes. She was reporting on escalating hostilities across the Lebanese-Israeli border and gave a live update an hour before her death.
Rabih Al Maamari
Al Maamari, a Lebanese cameraperson for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV channel, was killed by an Israeli strike in the Tayr Harfa area in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel, along with his colleague Farah Omar, according to Al-Mayadeen, Al-Jazeera, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes.
November 20, 2023
Ayat Khadoura
Khadoura, a Palestinian freelance journalist and podcast presenter, was killed along with an unknown number of family members in an Israeli airstrike on her home in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the news website Arabi 21, and London-based Al-Ghad TV. Khadoura shared videos on social media about the situation in Gaza, including a November 6 video, which she called “my last message to the world” where she said, “We had big dreams but our dream now is to be killed in one piece so they know who we are.”
November 19, 2023
Bilal Jadallah
Jadallah, director of Press House-Palestine, a non-profit which supports the development of independent Palestinian media, was killed in his car in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Al Qahera News, and the Cairo-based Youm7.
November 18, 2023
Abdelhalim Awad
A Palestinian media worker and driver for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Awad was killed in a strike on his home in the Gaza Strip, according to the London-based Al-Ghad TV, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes. Awad had been working full-time since the beginning of the war in Khan Yunis and had left to visit his family last week, his colleague Ziad AlMokayyed told CPJ via messaging app.
Sari Mansour
Mansour, director of the Quds News Network, and his colleague and friend Hassouneh Salim were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Cairo-based Elwatan news, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Al-Jazeera, and Anadolu Agency.
Hassouneh Salim
Salim, a Palestinian freelance photojournalist, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, along with his colleague and friend Sari Mansour, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, Al-Jazeera, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Mostafa El Sawaf
El Sawaf, a Palestinian writer and analyst who contributed to the local news website MSDR News, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home along with his wife and two of his sons in Shawa Square, Gaza City, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Cairo-based Youm7.
Amro Salah Abu Hayah
A Palestinian media worker in the broadcast department of the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel, Abu Hayah was killed in a strike in Gaza, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Mossab Ashour
Ashour, a Palestinian photographer, was killed during an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip but his death was not reported until November 18, soon after his body was discovered, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, TRT Arabi, and Anadolu Agency.
November 13, 2023
Ahmed Fatima
A photographer for the Egypt-based Al Qahera News TV and a media worker with Press House-Palestine, Fatima was killed in a strike in Gaza, according to Al Qahera News TV, the Egypt-based Ahram Online, the Palestinians Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Amman-based news outlet Roya News.
Yaacoub Al-Barsh
Al-Barsh, executive director of the local Namaa Radio, was killed after sustaining injuries on November 12 from an Israeli airstrike on his home in northern Gaza, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the Ramallah-based Palestinian news network SHFA, and the Palestinian press freedom group MADA.
November 10, 2023
Ahmed Al-Qara
Al-Qara, a photojournalist who worked for Al-Aqsa University and was also a freelancer, was killed in a strike at the entrance of Khuza’a town, east of the southern city of Khan Yunis, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Cairo-based Al-Dostor newspaper.
November 7, 2023
Yahya Abu Manih
A journalist with Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa radio channel, Abu Manih was killed in a strike in the Gaza strip, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, Al-Jazeera, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes.
Mohamed Abu Hassira
Abu Hassira, a journalist for the Palestinian Authority-run Wafa news agency, was killed in a strike on his home in Gaza along with 42 family members, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, the London-based news website The New Arab, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
November 5, 2023
Mohamed Al Jaja
Al Jaja was a media worker and the organizational development consultant at Press House-Palestine, which owns Sawa news agency in Gaza and promotes press freedom and independent media. He was killed in a strike on his home along with his wife and two daughters in the Al-Naser neighborhood in northern Gaza, according to the London-based news website The New Arab, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
November 2, 2023
Mohamad Al-Bayyari
Al-Bayyari, a Palestinian journalist with the Hamas affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Mohammed Abu Hatab
A journalist and correspondent for the Palestinian Authority-funded broadcaster Palestine TV, Abu Hatab was killed along with 11 members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and the Amman-based news outlet Roya News.
November 1, 2023
Majd Fadl Arandas
A member of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate who worked for the news website Al-Jamaheer, Arandas was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes.
Iyad Matar
Matar, a journalist working for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed along with his mother in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News and the local channel Palestine Today.
October 31, 2023
Imad Al-Wahidi
A media worker and administrator for the Palestinian Authority-run Palestine TV channel, Al-Wahidi was killed with his family members in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued by the channel, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Majed Kashko
Kashko, a media worker and the office director of the Palestinian Authority-run Palestine TV channel, was killed with his family members in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued by the channel, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
October 30, 2023
Nazmi Al-Nadim
Al-Nadim, a deputy director of finance and administration for Palestine TV, was killed with members of his family in a strike on his home in Zeitoun area, eastern Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency.
October 27, 2023
Yasser Abu Namous
Palestinian journalist Yasser Abu Namous of Al-Sahel media organization was killed in a strike on his family home in Khan Yunis, Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, Al-Jazeera, and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds network.
October 26, 2023
Duaa Sharaf
Palestinian journalist Sharaf, host for the Hamas-affiliated Radio Al-Aqsa, was killed with her child in a strike on her home in the Yarmouk neighborhood in Gaza, according to Anadolu Agency and Middle East Monitor.
October 25, 2023
Jamal Al-Faqaawi
Al-Faqaawi, a Palestinian journalist for the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Mithaq Media Foundation, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to Al-Jazeera, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Palestinian News Network, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Saed Al-Halabi
Al-Halabi, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, and Al-Jazeera.
Ahmed Abu Mhadi
A journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Mhadi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and Youm7.
Salma Mkhaimer
Mkhaimer, a freelance journalist, was killed alongside her child in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr.
October 24, 2023
Ibrahim Marzouq
Ibrahim Marzouq, a Palestinian media worker for the logistics department of the Gaza Bureau of the Palestinian Authority-run broadcaster Palestine Today TV, was killed along with his family in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Gaza City´s Al-Tuffah neighborhood on October 24, 2023, according to his employer, and a report by the Beirut-based think tank Institute for Palestine Studies.
After Israeli warplanes bombed his home, he remained under the rubble until noon when medical teams were able to extract his body, according to the Institute for Palestine Studies. Marzouq had decided to stay at his home rather than leave for southern Gaza with his family as advised by the Israeli Army, the institute report said.
October 23, 2023
Mohammed Imad Labad
A journalist for the Al Resalah news website, Labad was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, according to RT Arabic and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
October 22, 2023
Roshdi Sarraj
A journalist and co-founder of Ain Media, a Palestinian company specializing in professional media services, Sarraj was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and Sky News.
October 20, 2023
Roee Idan
On October 20, Israeli journalist Idan was declared dead after his body was recovered, according to The Times of Israel and the International Federation of Journalists. Idan, a photographer for the Israeli newspaper Ynet, was initially reported missing when his wife and daughter were killed in a Hamas attack on October 7 on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. CPJ confirmed that he was working on the day of the attack.
Mohammed Ali
A journalist from Al-Shabab Radio (Youth Radio), Ali was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Cairo-based Al-Dostor newspaper.
October 19, 2023
Khalil Abu Aathra
A videographer for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Abu Aathra was killed along with his brother in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as reported by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Amman-based news outlet Roya News.
October 18, 2023
Sameeh Al-Nady
A journalist and director for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Al-Nady was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian press agency Safa.
October 17, 2023
Mohammad Balousha
Balousha, a journalist and the administrative and financial manager of the local media channel “Palestine Today” office in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Saftawi neighborhood in northern Gaza, reported Anadolu Agency and The Guardian.
Issam Bhar
Bhar, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to TRT Arabia and the Cairo-based Arabic newspaper Shorouk News.
October 16, 2023
Abdulhadi Habib
A journalist who worked for Al-Manara News Agency and HQ News Agency, Habib was killed along with several of his family members when a missile strike hit his house near the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the independent Palestinian news organization International Middle East Media Center.
October 14, 2023
Yousef Maher Dawas
Dawas, a contributing writer for Palestine Chronicle and a writer for We Are Not Numbers (WANN), a youth-led Palestinian nonprofit project, was killed in an Israeli missile strike on his family’s home in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, according to WANN and Palestine Chronicle.
October 13, 2023
Salam Mema
The death of Mema, a freelance journalist, was confirmed on this date. Mema held the position of head of the Women Journalists Committee at the Palestinian Media Assembly, an organization committed to advancing media work for Palestinian journalists. Her body was recovered from the rubble three days after her home in the Jabalia refugee camp, situated in the northern Gaza Strip, was hit by an Israeli airstrike on October 10, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
Husam Mubarak
Mubarak, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group Skeyes and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Abdallah, a Beirut-based videographer for the Reuters news agency, was killed near the Lebanon border by shelling coming from the direction of Israel. Abdallah and several other journalists were covering the back-and-forth shelling near Alma Al-Shaab in southern Lebanon between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
October 12, 2023
Ahmed Shehab
A journalist for Sowt Al-Asra Radio (Radio Voice of the Prisoners), Shehab, along with his wife and three children, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Palestinian press freedom group MADA, and the London-based news website The New Arab.
October 11, 2023
Mohamed Fayez Abu Matar
Abu Matar, a freelance photojournalist, was killed during an Israeli airstrike in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
October 10, 2023
Saeed al-Taweel
Al-Taweel, editor-in-chief of the Al-Khamsa News website, was killed when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper, The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
Mohammed Sobh
Sobh, a photographer from Khabar news agency, was killed when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
Hisham Alnwajha
Alnwajha, a journalist with Khabar news agency, was injured when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
He died of his injuries later that day, according to the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and Palestinian news website AlWatan Voice.
October 8, 2023
Assaad Shamlakh
Shamlakh, a freelance journalist, was killed along with nine members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Sheikh Ijlin, a neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based advocacy group The Legal Agenda and BBC Arabic.
October 7, 2023
Yaniv Zohar
Zohar, an Israeli photographer working for the Hebrew-language daily newspaper Israel Hayom, was killed during a Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel, along with his wife and two daughters, according to Israel Hayom and Israel National News. Israel Hayom’s editor-in-chief Omer Lachmanovitch told CPJ that Zohar was working on that day.
Mohammad Al-Salhi
Al-Salhi, a photojournalist working for the Fourth Authority news agency, was shot dead near a Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, and the Journalist Support Committee (JSC), a nonprofit which promotes the rights of the media in the Middle East.
Mohammad Jarghoun
Jarghoun, a journalist with Smart Media, was shot while reporting on the conflict in an area to the east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the BBC and UNESCO.
Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi
Lafi, a photographer for Ain Media, was shot and killed at the Gaza Strip’s Erez Crossing into Israel, according to the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and Al-Jazeera.
As we continue to monitor the war in Israel/Gaza, journalists who have questions about their safety and security can contact us emergencies@cpj.org.
For more information, read:
These are available in multiple languages, including Arabic.
December 23, 2023
Khader Marquez
Marquez, a cameraman for Lebanon’s Hezbollah-owned TV channel Al-Manar was injured after shrapnel from an Israeli missile hit his car on the Khardali road of south Lebanon, injuring his left eye, according to Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib, who was with Marquez, posted about the incident on social media, and spoke to the privately-owned Beirut-based Al-Jadeed TV. The incident also was reported by the privately owned Lebanese Annahar newspaper, the Beirut based press freedom group SKeyes, the National News Agency, and multiple news reports.
December 19, 2023
Islam Bader
Bader, a Palestinian reporter and presenter for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa channel, and a contributor to multiple media outlets including the Qatari-funded Al-Araby TV, was injured in the right shoulder and hip in an Israeli airstrike on Block 2 of the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, on December 19, according to the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Araby TV, and Palestine TV. His colleague Mohamed Ahmed was injured in the same strike. A video posted by Al-Jazeera shows the two journalists being treated in Jabalia medical center after the attack. Another video posted by the local Palestine Post website shows Bader and Ahmed lying on the floor of the medical center frowning in pain.
Bader told Al-Araby TV that he was injured by three pieces of shrapnel in his shoulder, and hip.
Bader and Ahmed are among the few journalists still reporting from northern Gaza.
Mohamed Ahmed
Ahmed, a Palestinian reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Shehab agency and photographer for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa channel, was injured in the left thigh in an Israeli airstrike on Block 2 of the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, on December 19, according to the London based pan Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Araby TV, and Palestine TV. His colleague Islam Bader was injured in the same strike. A video posted by Al-Jazeera shows the two journalists being treated in Jabalia medical center right after their injury. Another video posted by the local Palestine Post website shows Bader and Ahmed lying on the floor of the medical center frowning in pain.
December 16, 2023
Mohamed Balousha
Balousha, a reporter for the Emirati-owned Dubai-based Al Mashahd TV, was shot in the thigh while reporting on the war from northern Gaza on December 16, 2023. According to his outlet Al Mashhad, Al-Jazeera, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the bullet was fired by an Israeli sniper. Balousha said in a video about his injury that he lost consciousness for about 30 minutes after “six hours of agony” and was roused by the nuzzling of cats he was feeding before the shooting. Al Mashhad said that Israeli forces intercepted the ambulances sent to evacuate him, delaying his transfer to a hospital for treatment.
In late November, Balousha broke a story that four premature babies left behind at al-Nasr Children’s Hospital died and their bodies had decomposed after Israel forced the staff to evacuate without ambulances. Balousha accused Israel of directly targeting him. “I was wearing everything to prove that I was a journalist, but they deliberately targeted me, and now I am struggling to get the treatment necessary to preserve my life,” he told The Washington Post.
December 15, 2023
Wael Al Dahdouh
The Gaza bureau chief for Al-Jazeera, Al Dahdouh was injured by a drone strike while covering the aftermath of nightly Israeli strikes on a UN school sheltering displaced people in the center of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to reports by their Al-Jazeera, Middle East Eye, and Reuters. Dahdoh was hit with shrapnel in his hand and waist and treated at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. His colleague, camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa, was killed in the same strike.
Mustafa Alkharouf
Alkharouf, a photographer with the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, was covering Friday prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on December 15 when a group of Israeli police and soldiers attacked him, according to Anadolu Agency, footage shared by The Union of Journalists in Israel, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa. Soldiers initially brandished their weapons at Alkharouf, punched him, and then threw him to the ground, kicking him. Alkharouf sustained severe blows, resulting in injuries to his face and body, and was transported by ambulance and treated at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.
November 18, 2023
Mohammed El Sawwaf
Mohammed El Sawwaf, an award-winning Palestinian film producer and director who founded the Gaza-based Alef Multimedia production company, was injured in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Shawa Square in Gaza City. The airstrike killed 30 members of his family, including his mother and his father, Mostafa Al Sawaf, who was also a journalist, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Anadolu Agency, and TRT Arabic.
Montaser El Sawaf
Montaser El Sawaf, a Palestinian freelance photographer contributing to Anadolu Agency, was injured in the same Israeli airstrike that injured his brother, Mohammed El Sawwaf and killed their parents and 28 other family members, according to the Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and TRT Arabic.
November 13, 2023
Issam Mawassi
Al-Jazeera videographer Mawassi was injured after two Israeli missiles struck near journalists in Yaroun in southern Lebanon covering clashes, which also resulted in damage to the journalists’ cars in the area, according to multiple media reports, some of which show the journalists live on air the minute the second missile hit the area. CPJ reached out to Mawassi via a messaging app but didn’t receive any response.
October 13, 2023
Thaer Al-Sudani
Al-Sudani, a journalist for Reuters, was injured in the same attack that killed Abdallah near the border in southern Lebanon, Reuters said.
Maher Nazeh
Nazeh, a journalist for Reuters, was also injured in the same southern Lebanon attack.
Elie Brakhya
Brakhya, an Al-Jazeera TV staff member, was injured as well in the southern Lebanon shelling, Al-Jazeera TV said.
Carmen Joukhadar
Joukhadar, an Al-Jazeera TV reporter, was also wounded in the southern Lebanon attack.
Christina Assi
Assi, a photographer for the French news agency Agence France-Press (AFP), was injured in that same attack on southern Lebanon, according to AFP and France 24.
Dylan Collins
Dylan Collins, a video journalist for AFP, was also injured in the southern Lebanon shelling.
October 7, 2023
Ibrahim Qanan
Qanan, a correspondent for Al-Ghad channel, was injured by shrapnel in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to MADA and JSC.
October 7, 2023
Oded Lifschitz
Lifschitz, a lifelong Israeli journalist who wrote for Al-Hamishmar for many years and was also a Haaretz contributor, was reported missing from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. Oded’s wife was one of the two hostages released by Hamas on October 24, 2023, according to The Times of Israel and The Telegraph.
Nidal Al-Wahidi
A Palestinian photographer from the Al-Najah channel, Al-Wahidi was reported missing by MADA. Later, Al-Wahidi’s family informed the media that the journalist had been detained by the Israeli army.
Haitham Abdelwahid
A Palestinian photographer from the Ain Media agency, Abdelwahid was also reported missing by MADA.
Clarifications and corrections:
CPJ has removed a Palestinan man, Mohamed Khaireddine, from this list. Khaireddine was previously identified as a journalist, but his family later clarified that he was neither a journalist nor a media support worker.
CPJ has removed two Israeli journalists, Shai Regev and Ayelet Arnin, from this list after their outlets confirmed that the journalists were not on assignment to cover the music festival, nor did they have any opportunity to begin reporting on the attack by Hamas militants that killed them on October 7. CPJ’s global database of killed journalists includes only those who have been killed in connection with their work or where there is still some doubt that their death was work-related.
After receiving reports that Palestinian journalist and presenter Alaa Taher Al-Hassanat may have survived the attack thought to have killed her, CPJ has removed her name from its casualties list pending further investigation.
*CPJ’s research and documentation covers all journalists, defined as individuals involved in news-gathering activity. This definition covers those working for a broad range of publicly and privately funded news outlets, as well as freelancers. In the cases CPJ has documented, multiple sources have found no evidence to date that any journalist was engaged in militant activity.
This text has been updated to correct the spelling of Alma Al-Shaab in Issam Abdallah’s October 13, 2023 entry, and of the outlet Palestine TV in Abu Hatab’s November 2, 2023 entry.
On February 6, 2024, Canadian-Palestinian journalist Mansour Shouman was found alive after being reported missing more than two weeks before. We have removed him from our list of missing journalists.
]]>CPJ’s statement follows an exchange documented in video footage and media reports between journalist Ambrozia Meta and Prime Minister Edi Rama at a March 19 press conference in the capital of Tirana. Meta, a reporter for the privately owned news channel Syri TV, told CPJ that the prime minister had made her feel “bad” and “intimidated” when he touched her cheek as he left the conference. “I reacted instinctively, asking him not to touch me again,” she said.
Meta had asked Rama about a controversial luxury tourism investment project in the environmentally protected area of the Albanian island of Sazan, which is reportedly linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The Balkans media advocacy group safejournalists.net described the incident as “part of a concerning pattern where Prime Minister Rama has exhibited contempt towards journalists, particularly women, who pose challenging inquiries.”
Meta told CPJ that during the press conference she asked several questions about the project, which Rama did not answer and instead called her “arguments ignorant” and said she was “a journalist without ethics, without politeness.” The reporter told CPJ that “Rama’s behavior with journalists is arrogant, shows a lack of respect” and that the incident weighs on her mentally, making her feel belittled. She added that she hadn’t expected the public reaction from the incident or that Rama would continue his verbal attacks against her.
Rama refused calls to apologize, saying the video recording was “misinterpreted.” He described his hand movement as “a completely innocent gesture” and only “a friendly pat on the shoulder following a normal conversation with the press where all questions were answered” in two posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. CPJ’s emailed questions to Rama’s press department received no reply.
“We are appalled by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s intimidating behavior against reporter Ambrozia Meta and condemn the action as part of a wider trend of Albanian officials’ using abusive language and intimidating behavior against journalists asking critical questions,” said Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe representative. “Albanian politicians and public officials, including Rama, must know that actions like this can undermine press freedom and legitimize further acts of aggression against the press.”
In March 2022, Rama told Meta during a press conference that she needed “re-education” and barred her from his press conferences for 60 days after she asked questions about alleged corruption involving Socialist Party politicians.
In July 2022, Rama reportedly told Klevin Muka, a reporter with private news channel A2 CNN TV, that he behaved unethically, needed to be sent for “re-education,” and banned him from attending government press conferences for three months after he asked critical questions, according to safejournalists.net.
Albanian public officials, including Rama, have been documented regularly using language that belittles critical journalists, according to a report following a 2019 joint press freedom mission with CPJ and six other international press freedom organizations.
]]>On March 14, Lar, a correspondent for the Daily Khabrain newspaper and contributor to local news outlets in the city of Khanpur in central Punjab province, was fatally shot by three unidentified assailants, according to media reports and CPJ’s review of a copy of the first information report (FIR), a document which opens an investigation.
“Pakistan authorities must swiftly and transparently investigate the killing of journalist Jam Saghir Ahmed Lar and determine whether it was linked to his journalism, including the death threats he received previously,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The heinous killing of journalists and its impunity must end in Pakistan. The government must step up protection for the media and ensure journalists can report without fear of reprisals.”
The FIR, lodged by Jaleel Ahmed, the journalist’s brother, stated that on the evening of March 14, Lar was inside a pharmacy when he was attacked by three individuals, two armed with AK-47 rifles and one with a pistol.
The assailants then fled the scene on a motorbike, according to the FIR, citing eyewitnesses.
The motive behind Lar’s killing remains unclear, but his brother said the journalist had received death threats from unidentified sources following his reporting on influential local figures.
Lar maintained a public Facebook page, which has 5,600 followers, where he posted about politics and other current affairs in Pakistan.
Police in Punjab province did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment via email.
Since 1992, 64 journalists have been killed in connection with their work in Pakistan, CPJ’s data shows. The country ranked 11th on CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index, which ranks countries by how often killers of journalists go unpunished.
]]>On Wednesday, a court in the Russian capital, Moscow, gave Kuznetsov, a reporter with the independent news website RusNews who has been in detention since September 2021, a suspended sentence, rather than the four-and-a-half-year prison sentence that prosecutors had requested, according to media reports and his outlet.
But the journalist will remain behind bars because he is also being tried for allegedly inciting mass disturbances in group chats on Telegram, for which a prosecutor in December requested a nine-year jail sentence, those sources said.
“Russian authorities have held journalist Igor Kuznetsov for over two-and-a-half-years on a range of spurious charges aimed at silencing him and his outlet. Correspondents of RusNews are some of the last remaining independent reporters in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should drop all the charges against Kuznetsov, release him immediately, and stop jailing independent voices.”
The court also banned Kuznetsov from managing websites, working in media, and organizing mass and public events for four years, and sentenced him to one year of restricted freedom, those sources said.
Restriction of freedom involves not being allowed to leave home at certain times of day, not visiting certain places, not participating in certain activities, not leaving the territory of a specific municipality, and not changing your place of residence.
Russian authorities accused Kuznetsov of being connected to the Left Resistance, an anti-war movement created in 2017, which authorities have labeled as extremist. RusNews chief editor Sergey Aynbinder told CPJ that Kuznetsov denied being an “extremist.”
In addition to Kuznetsov, Russia has jailed two other RusNews journalists.
Maria Ponomarenko was given a six-year sentence in 2023 for spreading “fake” information about the Russian army and could face an additional five years in jail in a second criminal case where she is being tried on allegations of using violence against prison staff.
In March, Roman Ivanov was sentenced to seven years in jail on the same charge of spreading fake information about the army.
Russia was the world’s fourth worst jailer of journalists—with 22 behind bars, including Kuznetsov, Ponomarenko, and Ivanov—on December 1, 2023, when CPJ conducted its latest annual prison census.
CPJ’s email to Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court requesting comment on Kuznetsov’s sentence did not receive any response.
Editor’s note: The spelling of the Meshchansky District Court has been corrected in the last paragraph.
On Wednesday, Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo reported that Russian authorities refused to renew Colás’ visa, the outlet’s longtime correspondent in Moscow, and gave him 24 hours to leave Russia after working in the country for 12 years.
“The hasty and unceremonious treatment Spanish journalist Xavier Colás received when being expelled from Russia demonstrates how keen the Russian authorities are to silence independent reporting,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Russian authorities should renew Colás’ visa and let him return and work in the country unless they are afraid of journalists.”
According to the outlet, late on Tuesday, March 19, a Russian official told Colás when he went to collect his visa that he would “have problems” if he did not leave before his visa expired. The journalist left Russia the next day, according to media reports.
“It’s hard to suddenly put 12 years of your life in three suitcases overnight and close the door knowing that that apartment will also be forbidden territory for you the next day,” Colás told El Mundo.
In a Twitter post, Colás wrote that the refusal to renew his visa happened “at the last minute.”
He added, “I don’t regret anything. I have simply done my job: I have told what is happening, I have talked to the people who are suffering because of it, and I have explained who is responsible for what is happening.”
Colás, who recently reported on presidential elections in Russia, has also been covering the war in Ukraine. In February, he published Putinistan, a book critical of Putin’s regime.
“The refusal to renew a journalist’s visa is one of the usual tools used by certain regimes to harm freedom of expression and prevent international coverage with autocracies such as Vladimir Putin’s, obsessed with controlling information,” El Mundo said, adding that Colás had remained in Moscow “to date” and “despite the regime’s hostility toward independent journalism.”
Russia tightened visa and accreditation rules for foreign correspondents after its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with renewals required every three months, rather than once a year as previously required, according to mediareports.
Russia has a history of expelling foreign reporters, including The Guardian’s Luke Harding in 2011 and the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford and Tom Vennink of the Dutch daily de Volkskrant in 2021. Since the start of Ukraine’s full-scale invasion, Russian authorities have failed to renew the visas and accreditations of Finnish journalists Arja Paananen and Anna-Lena Laurén, and of Dutch journalist Eva Hartog.
In March 2023, The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges, the first American journalist to face such accusations by Russia since the end of the Cold War. Russia has also detained Alsu Kurmasheva, a U.S-Russian dual citizen and an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir service of U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) since October 2023 on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent and of spreading “fake” information about the Russian army.
CPJ emailed the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment but did not receive any reply.
]]>On March 12, Ayuso’s chief of staff, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, sent a series of texts via messaging app to Esther Palomera, deputy editor of elDiario.es, one of which said, “We are going to crush you. You’re going to have to close … Idiots.”
When Palomera asked if the message was a threat, Rodríguez responded, “It’s an announcement,” according to news reports, and the website’s director and founder, Ignacio Escolar, who told CPJ via email that elDiario.es was investigating possible legal remedies.
Escolar said in an opinion piece that the messages were sent “to intimidate and silence us” hours after elDiario.es published two articles about a criminal investigation into alleged tax fraud by Alberto González Amador, Ayuso’s partner.
In addition, the Community of Madrid, which Ayuso heads, sent a statement on Tuesday to a WhatsApp group of journalists accusing two El Pais journalists—whose names and photographs were included—of harassing Amador and Ayuso’s neighbors while reporting at the couple’s house, El Pais reported. The statement also accused “hooded journalists” from elDiario.es of trying to access the house. Rodríguez acknowledged that he was the one behind the personal data leak, also known as doxxing, and the allegations, which the two media outlets rejected as false.
“Spanish authorities should immediately and transparently investigate the threats and false allegations made against the news website elDiario.es and its journalists and the doxxing of two El Pais reporters and ensure that justice is served,” said Attila Mong, CPJ’s Europe representative. “Public officials should applaud media outlets that expose allegations of criminal behavior by politicians, rather than demonize and threaten journalists for doing their job.”
After the publication of elDiario.es’ investigation, subsequent media reports revealed that Amador had offered in February to pay the tax arrears but the prosecutor’s office did not accept his proposal, and on March 5 filed a complaint to an investigative court requesting that it charge Amador and four other businessmen with the falsification of invoices to evade tax.
In a March 18 video, Ayuso—who was not accused of any wrongdoing—defended her chief of staff and said the exchange between Rodríguez and Palomera was a conversation between “two people with a relationship of trust who argue on WhatsApp.”
For his part, Rodríguez told El País that the text messages published by elDiario.es were authentic and he regretted that a “fight with a friend” had left the “private and individual” sphere, but the exchange was “an angry way” of saying that elDiario.es was “inventing a case where there was none.”
Palomera responded with an opinion piece saying that it was not a “quarrel between friends” as their relationship had been “strictly professional, occasional and the usual one between a politician and journalist.”
In a text message responding to CPJ’s questions, Rodriguez said that he had never threatened the journalists. “If you see threats here, it is your personal opinion. There have never been any threats,” he said.
CPJ’s emails requesting comment to the press office of Madrid’s regional president and to the law firm Garrido, which represents Amador, did not receive any replies.
]]>On March 15, around 15 armed men in two unmarked vans arrived at Olatunji’s home in Alagbado, a community in Nigeria’s western Lagos state. The men, two of whom wore military-style uniforms, introduced themselves as officers of the Nigerian army and forced Olatunji to come with them without explanation, according to media reports and Olatunji’s wife Abiodun Oluwakemi, who spoke to CPJ by phone. Oluwakemi added that she pleaded with the men not to take her husband.
A First News report following Olatunji’s arrest speculated that the journalist may have been taken in response to a February 29 report by the privately owned online news site that accused an official working with the Nigeria Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), which serves under Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence, of failing to fairly allocate public contracts. First News publisher Daniel Iworiso-Markson also told CPJ that Olatunji had recently removed a story from the site about how a popular contractor used by public officials had allegedly diverted government funds. The story was taken down after Olatunji received calls from people who described the report as problematic. Iworiso-Markson told CPJ that he did not have any details about the people who called Olatunji about the story.
“Olatunji’s arrest by armed men identifying themselves as officers with the Nigerian army is totally unacceptable. Nigerian authorities must ensure his safety and swiftly clarify the reasons for his detention,” said CPJ Africa Program Head Angela Quintal in New York. “The seizure of journalists from their homes is behavior reminiscent of an era in Nigerian history when the military ran the country and has no place in a modern democracy.”
Oluwakemi told CPJ that on March 12, three days before he was taken, armed men approached a local security guard and showed him a photo of Olatunji, asking for his whereabouts. When the guard could not provide sufficient details, the men instructed him to use his phone to call a number they provided. The number connected to Oluwakemi’s phone, and the guard asked her questions about admission to a local university, which made no sense, Oluwakemi added.
Oluwakemi said she was confused and bothered by the call and, after contacting him again, learned from the security guard that the armed men had followed him over the days between making him place the call and Olatunji being taken.
On March 18, Oluwakemi and Iworiso-Markson told CPJ by phone that they tried to locate the Olatunji at police stations and contacted friends and colleagues in various military offices across the state—even within Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, without success. Olatunji’s phone, which he had when the men took him, also appeared to have been turned off.
On March 19, Oluwakemi said she went to the local office of Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS), also known by the acronym DSS. Officers there allowed her to enter the building in search of Olatunji, but she did not find him.
CPJ called and texted Lagos police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin but received no response. However, Iworiso-Markson told CPJ via messaging app on March 19 that the federal police force confirmed that they had begun investigating the matter.
CPJ called the number listed on the Nigerian army’s Facebook page, but an automated response said, “the called number does not have the facility to receive calls.” CPJ’s calls to Nigerian army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu rang unanswered.
Over the days since Olatunji was taken, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) each issued statements of concern over the journalist.
]]>Rana was held in jail for a week after police arrested the journalist on March 5. Rana, who works for the Bangla-language newspaper Desh Rupantor, was arrested at a local government office in the northern Sherpur district after he filed a right to information (RTI) application regarding a government-run development program, according to news reports, the local press freedom group Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, and Mustafa Mamun, acting editor of Desh Rupantor.
Later that day, an assistant land commissioner, who is also an executive magistrate, sentenced the journalist to six months in prison on charges of disobeying an order by a public servant and insulting the modesty of a woman. The action was taken through a mobile court, which is empowered to try offenses instantly.
Mohammad Ali Arafat, state minister for information and broadcasting, stated that the country’s information commission would investigate the incident and told CPJ that he would receive a copy of the commission’s investigative report on Monday, March 18.
Arafat told CPJ on Thursday that the report found the chief of the government office where Rana filed the RTI application “to be at fault.” The information commission summoned the official for further questioning on April 2, Arafat said, adding that based on the commission’s findings, Rana may be acquitted during his appeal, but the decision would depend on the judicial process.
Separately, at around 12 p.m. on March 14, employees at an assistant land commissioner’s office in Lalmonirhat held Mahfuz Sazu, a correspondent for the broadcaster mytv and the newspaper The Daily Observer, after the journalist filmed a land dispute hearing allegedly conducted by an unauthorized official, according to news reports, Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ.
Twenty minutes later, four members of the Lalmonirhat Press Club arrived to help Sazu and were also confined within the premises. After a district revenue commissioner arrived at the scene, the five journalists were released around 12:50 p.m.
“CPJ welcomes a government investigation into the retaliatory jailing of Bangladeshi journalist Md Shofiuzzaman Rana. Journalists should not face reprisal merely for seeking information,,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should launch a transparent probe into the confinement of five correspondents in a government office in Lalmonirhat and ensure that journalists are not harassed with impunity.”
Rana’s arrest unfolded after an office assistant refused to provide the journalist with a receipt for his RTI application. Rana then called the Sherpur deputy commissioner, or district magistrate, to resolve the issue, Mamun told CPJ, citing Rana. The chief of the local government office arrived at the scene and shouted at Rana, saying, “You are a broker journalist” (an insult used to refer to a media member who makes money through one-sided stories).
Police then arrived at the scene, arrested the journalist, and seized his two mobile phones. Rana was held for one week in Sherpur District Jail and released on bail on March 12. A local magistrate court is scheduled to hear Rana’s appeal against the verdict on April 16.
Separately, Sazu told CPJ that after filming the land dispute hearing, he interviewed three people connected to the case in the corridor of the assistant land commissioner’s office when an official unsuccessfully attempted to confiscate his phone.
The official then called the assistant land commissioner. At the same time, the office staff escorted the three people he interviewed out of the building and locked the entrance, leaving the journalist confined within the premises, Sazu said.
Sazu told CPJ that the journalist’s four colleagues later entered the building with the assistance of a local ward councilor but were also locked inside the premises. The journalists were:
The assistant land commissioner then arrived at the scene and shouted at the journalists, calling them “brokers” and threatening to send them to jail via a mobile court, Sazu said, adding that the journalists also heard him telling an unidentified individual on the phone that he would file legal cases against them.
Later that day, the divisional commissioner of Rangpur, which encompasses Lalmonirhat, issued an order transferring the assistant land commissioner to another locality. The order was executed on Thursday, Sazu told CPJ.
Arafat told CPJ Thursday that the government would also investigate the incident in Lalmonirhat.
Editor’s note: This alert has been updated with Arafat’s response and the Thursday execution of the order against the assistant land commissioner.
]]>Miami, March 20, 2024—The kidnappers of journalist Lucien Jura should release him immediately and not hold journalists as pawns, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
Jura was abducted from his home in Pétion-Ville on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday, March 18, according to news reports. That same day, gangs attacked several homes in the area, leaving at least 10 dead.
On Tuesday, Jura confirmed his kidnapping in a brief phone call with the secretary-general of the Haitian group SOS Journalists, Guy Delva. Delva told CPJ that he called Jura’s cellphone, and one of the kidnappers answered.
“I asked to speak to Jura, and he said ‘Okay’ and passed the phone to him,” Delva told CPJ. “He spoke in a calm and serious tone.” The journalist told Delva he was doing well and taking steps to get out of the situation.
The kidnappers also contacted Jura’s family, according to a post by Jean Peguy, a lawyer and former presenter of the “Moment of Truth” program on Radio Signal FM, which cited a relative of the journalist. CPJ was unable to confirm further details about the kidnapping, and messages to Peguy did not receive an immediate response.
“We are very concerned by the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Haiti and its impact on everyone in the country, including the journalists trying to keep the public informed,” said Katherine Jacobsen, CPJ’s U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Those holding journalist Lucien Jura must release him immediately. Journalists should not be used as pawns.”
Jura is an independent commentator on current events and is considered to be one of the country’s most prominent journalists. CPJ was not able to confirm whether his work was related to his kidnapping.
Jura began his journalism career at the prominent television station Télémax and Radio Signal FM, according to Peguy’s post. Jura later served as presidential spokesman during the administration of Michel Martelly and Jovenel Moïse. Jura also published a book in 2000 about his experience in public service.
The kidnapping came amid weeks of chaos and violence in Haiti as police clashed with armed gangs seeking to consolidate their power, forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry earlier this month. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination of Moïse in 2021.
Several reporters have been injured while reporting on the latest violence, including freelancer Jean Marc Jean, who lost an eye when he was struck in the face by a tear gas canister fired by police.
At least six Haitian journalists have been murdered in direct reprisal for their work since Moise’s assassination. CPJ has also documented half a dozen kidnappings of journalists in recent months. Haiti was ranked as the world’s third-worst nation in CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index, which measures where killers of journalists are most likely to go unpunished.
]]>After more than six months in jail, Bujakera was released from prison on Tuesday, Ndikulu Yana and Charles Mushizi, two of Bujakera’s lawyers, told CPJ via messaging app. The lawyers said they planned to appeal the conviction and sentencing.
“While it is good news that journalist Stanis Bujakera is no longer behind bars, his conviction and sentencing is alarming because it seeks to justify his months in detention and sends a frightening message to the broader media community. His case has been a heavy blow to press freedom in the DRC,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program. “DRC authorities should take urgent steps to improve press freedom conditions, including releasing and dropping the case against Blaise Mabala, who has been jailed since December 2023, and reforming the country’s laws to ensure journalism is not criminalized.”
Bujakera is a Congolese citizen and a permanent U.S. resident. He worked as a correspondent for privately owned Jeune Afrique and Reuters news agency, and was also deputy director of publication for the DRC-based news website Actualite.cd.
DRC police arrested Bujakera in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, on September 8, 2023, and authorities charged him with spreading falsehoods, forgery, use of forged documents, and distributing false documents under the combined application of the DRC’s penal code and a new digital code and press law. The charges relate to an August 31 report about the military intelligence’s possible involvement in the murder of an opposition politician by Jeune Afrique, which the outlet said Bujakera did not write.
During a hearing on March 8, the report of a technical expert commissioned by the court suggested that Bujakera was not the principal source of a document cited in Jeune Afrique’s article that the DRC intelligence service has said was false. During the same hearing, the public prosecutor requested that Bujakera be sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 1 million Congolese francs ($361). But the judge on Monday sentenced him to six months in prison, which he had already served, and that fine, which Yana told CPJ had been paid before his release.
In the hours before Bujakera’s release, the prosecutor submitted and then withdrew an appeal of the sentencing, Yana said.
In a separate case, Malaba, coordinator of the privately owned radio Même moral FM and correspondent for the privately owned news site okapinews.net, who was arrested on December 29, is being held in pre-trial detention in Makala central prison in Kinshasa. He is accused of defamation and contempt against Rita Bola, governor of Maï Ndombe province, over an October broadcast in which listeners called in and criticized the politician.
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