This year has been “particularly deadly” for journalists, with 104 killed worldwide, more than half of them in Gaza, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported on Tuesday.
While the 2024 toll is lower than the 129 journalists killed in 2023, it remains “one of the worst years” on record, according to IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.
The press group revealed that 55 Palestinian media workers lost their lives in 2024 during Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza. Since the war began on October 7, 2023, at least 138 Palestinian journalists have been killed, the federation added.
Bellanger condemned the situation as a “massacre happening before the eyes of the world.” He asserted that many journalists in Gaza were deliberately targeted, while others fell victim to the chaos of being “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Global Toll Extends Beyond Gaza
Elsewhere, Europe saw four journalists killed in 2024 as the war in Ukraine continued to claim lives within the media community.
The IFJ’s figures often exceed those reported by other organizations like Reporters Without Borders due to differing methodologies. In 2023, Reporters Without Borders recorded 54 journalists and two collaborators killed while on duty. The NGO is expected to release its 2024 data later this week.
These grim statistics highlight the continued dangers faced by journalists worldwide, especially in conflict zones.
