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FACTS ON THE GROUND: JOURNALISTS IN GAZA MUST BE PROTECTED FROM ISRAEL’S ONGOING TARGETING AND KILLINGS


    The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) condemns the ongoing violence against Palestinian press workers—including editors, cameramen, and field reporters—as a direct assault on press freedom and a violation of international law. Among those recently killed by Israel’s military offensive are Yayha Sobeih, Hossam Shabat, Fatima Hossouna, Abed Shaat, Mohammed Mansour, Hilmi al-Faqaawi, and Ahmed Mansour. 


    AMEJA joins organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), and the Freedom of the Press Foundation in calling for the urgent protection of journalists in Gaza. 


    From October 7, 2023 to May 7, 2025, 176 journalists and media workers have been killed—many while off duty or sheltering with family—making this the deadliest period since CPJ began tracking such data in 1992. CPJ reports it’s investigating more than 130 additional cases in Gaza of potential killings, arrests and injuries, through harsh conditions on the ground complicate documentation. 

    Despite the danger, Palestinian journalists continue filing reports while facing threats, surveillance, and displacement, providing the world with the only news from Gaza as the Israeli government continues to block international media from having unfettered access to the Strip. AMEJA also calls for this blockade to end, and for international media to be allowed to freely report from Gaza.

    Journalists are under attack. Journalism is under attack. As an industry, we must stand together. AMEJA urges our colleagues in U.S. newsrooms to commit to fair, rigorous reporting on Gaza, to coverattacks on Palestinian journalists with the urgency required, and to join us in calling for the upholding of international standards for protecting journalists, allowing for the medical evacuations of wounded journalists, the establishment of safe corridors for journalists, and the pursuit of formal, independent investigations into attacks on press workers. The defense of press freedom must be consistent and universal. 

    To aid this effort, AMEJA has compiled a fact sheet documenting statistics, quotes from journalists, and analysis from leading nonprofits to illustrate the unacceptable toll this war has taken on journalism, and on Palestinian journalists in particular. All facts and quotes are sourced and linked, primarily from CPJ, RSF, and the United Nations. 

    We encourage journalists, policymakers, and concerned citizens to share these documented facts widely to raise awareness about this urgent crisis for press workers and press freedom. 


    FACT SHEET: May 2025


    • 175+ journalists or media workers have been killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.1

    • 49+ journalists in Gaza had lost a member of their immediate family according to analysis in June 2024.2

    • 11+ journalists in Gaza had lost one or more of their children.3

    • 661+ family members of journalists had been killed. The number of journalists surveyed for the analysis was only 213.4

    • Almost half of the journalists counted by CPJ in June 2024 were killed at home. This defies the notion that they were killed in crossfire.5

    • At least 32 journalists were killed while working.6

    • 80+ Palestinian journalists have been arrested by Israel.7

    • 183+ journalists in Gaza have had their homes partially or totally destroyed.8

    • Nearly all of the journalists killed at home were killed along with family members.9

    • 0 international journalists have been allowed by Israel to independently enter Gaza and freely report.10

    • 50+ university buildings have been completely destroyed in Gaza11, and 90% of school buildings have been damaged.12


    Quotes from Palestinian Journalists Who Have Reported in Gaza


    • “If anything happens to me, remember I am not a number.” - Journalist Hind Khoudary13

    • “The airstrikes weren’t the only danger – being identified as a journalist made me a target. At times, reporting from Gaza felt like a death sentence.” -Journalist Mohammed Mhawish speaking directly to AMEJA. 

    • “It's a difficult moment in the life of a Palestinian journalist, when they go to cover an incident for the news and find out that the news is their own family.” - Journalist Wael Al-Dahdouh, whose wife, son, daughter, and grandson were killed by Israel.14

    • “As a journalist on the ground [in Gaza] I felt I was navigating a battleground where truth was my weapon but also my vulnerability. No camera lens could shield me from the bombs.” -Journalist Mohammed Mhawish speaking directly to AMEJA.

    • “Why do we wear press vests? Why do we wear helmets? So they can target us?” Asked a journalist from his hospital bed before his leg was amputated.15



    Non-profit research and analysis


    • The “elimination” of journalists will lead to a “complete media blackout in Gaza.”16

    • “Rarely have journalists paid such a heavy price for just doing their job as those in Gaza now.”17

    • “Journalists have been killed everywhere: in their offices, in the field, in their homes, in refugee camps, outside hospitals and in their cars.”18

    • A “horrifying number of journalists [have] paid with their lives for their commitment to keeping the world informed”19

    • “These attacks target not only the Palestinian press, but the international public’s right to information that is reliable, free, independent, and pluralist from one of the most closely watched conflict zones on the planet."20

    •  “Even before the start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ had documented Israel’s pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists without producing credible evidence to substantiate their claims[…]Smear campaigns endanger journalists and erode public trust in the media. Israel must end this practice and allow independent international investigations into the journalists’ killings.”21

    • At least four complaints have been filed with the International Criminal Court over “Israel’s crimes against journalists in Gaza.”22

    • CPJ has determined that at least 17 journalists and two media workers were directly targeted and killed by Israeli forces which CPJ classifies as murders, including: Issam Abdallah, Hamza Al Dahdouh, Mustafa Thuraya, Ismail Al Ghoul, and Rami Al Refee. CPJ is still researching the details for confirmation in at least 20 other cases that indicate possible targeting.23

    • “[OHCHR] have received disturbing reports that, despite being clearly identifiable in jackets and helmets marked “press” or traveling in well-marked press vehicles, journalists have come under attack, which would seem to indicate that the killings, injury, and detention are a deliberate strategy by Israeli forces to obstruct the media and silence critical reporting.”24


    Recommended Readings



    Possible Interviews:

    • Carlos Martinez de la Serna - CPJ Program Director in New York

    • Rebecca Vincent - RSF’s Director of Campaigns

    • Irene Kahn - United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

    • Shorouk Asaad - spokesperson for PJS (Speaks English and French)

    • Ashraf al Masharawi - Director of the Palestinian Journalists Protection Center

    • Mohammed Mhawish - Freelance Journalist from Gaza (reach out to board@ameja.org)


    #EndTheBlackout

    #JournalismIsNOTaCrime

    #TruthUnderFire

    #IsraelLetUsReport



    1 https://cpj.org/2025/02/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/

    2 https://arij.net/investigations/gaza-project/survey-results-page/en.html

    3 https://arij.net/investigations/gaza-project/survey-results-page/en.html

    4 https://theintercept.com/2024/06/25/israel-gaza-war-journalists-killed/

    5 https://theintercept.com/2024/06/25/israel-gaza-war-journalists-killed/ 

    6 https://rsf.org/en/rate-journalists-are-being-killed-gaza-there-will-soon-be-no-one-left-keep-you-informed

    7 https://cpj.org/2025/02/arrests-of-palestinian-journalists-since-start-of-israel-gaza-war/

    8 https://theintercept.com/2024/06/25/israel-gaza-war-journalists-killed/

    9 https://theintercept.com/2024/06/25/israel-gaza-war-journalists-killed/

    10 https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a79319-global-threats-freedom-expression-arising-conflict-gaza-report

    11 https://www.ochaopt.org/content/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-8-january-2025

    12 https://x.com/palestinemoe/status/1833185324165407019?s=46&t=N2rHBmo_XljngMM

    13 https://x.com/Hind_Gaza/status/1720365752933359872

    14 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/1/to-kill-a-family-the-loss-of-wael-dahdouhs-family-to-israeli-bombs

    15 https://theintercept.com/2024/06/25/israel-gaza-war-journalists-killed/

    16 https://rsf.org/en/rate-journalists-are-being-killed-gaza-there-will-soon-be-no-one-left-keep-you-informed

    17 https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/gaza-un-experts-condemn-killing-and-silencing-journalists

    18 https://rsf.org/en/103-journalists-killed-150-days-gaza-tragedy-palestinian-journalism

    19 https://rsf.org/en/rate-journalists-are-being-killed-gaza-there-will-soon-be-no-one-left-keep-you-informed

    20 https://rsf.org/en/rate-journalists-are-being-killed-gaza-there-will-soon-be-no-one-left-keep-you-informed

    21 https://cpj.org/2024/08/cpj-denounces-israels-smearing-of-killed-palestinian-journalists-with-unsubstantiated-terrorist-labels/

    22 https://rsf.org/en/gaza-rsf-files-its-fourth-complaint-year-icc-israel-s-war-crimes-against-journalists

    23 https://cpj.org/2025/02/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/

    24 https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/gaza-un-experts-condemn-killing-and-silencing-journalists


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