‘No other war has taken so many journalists’ lives in such a short time span,’ reports the Committee to Protect Journalists, as Israel’s war on Hamas takes more Palestinian lives while Hamas holds back Iraeli hostages.

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By Francesca Rapisarda / Staff Writer || Edited by Nicolette Alexandra Brito-Cruz 

As of March 13, 95 journalists and media workers have been confirmed dead, including 90 Palestinian, 2 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese reporters. Moreover, 16 journalists have been reported injured, 25 have been arrested and four are missing. 

The number of journalists killed during the first month of Israel’s war on Hamas exceeded any other war in the last 30 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Journalist groups from the International Federation for Journalists (IFJ) signed a statement on Nov. 2, 2023, urging Israeli authorities to assume full responsibility for safeguarding journalists reporting on the war after the Israeli army told the international press during the early weeks of the conflict that it was unable to guarantee the security of its journalists working in the Gaza Strip.  

“Journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sheriff Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. Many journalists in Gaza are still risking their lives daily, and their families are also in danger. 

Deliberately attacking people and journalists constitutes a war crime, according to Article 19 of the International Humanitarian Law. Journalists have the right be granted the autonomy and safety to carry out their duties without excessive intervention.  

Since Dec. 23, 2006, the International Committe of the Red Cross (ICRC) wrote a resolution that concerns the protection of journalists engaged in risky professional missions in areas of armed conflict: 

“Parties to an armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of affected civilians.”  

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO) supports the freedom of speech of journalists and cooperates with the judiciary and security forces to ensure the security of journalists and put a stop to the crimes against them. 

Journalist casualties – highlights 

Two Israeli reporters were killed in the Oct. 7 during the attack conducted by Hamas on the Supernova music festival, Shai Regev and Ayelet Arnin.   

On Oct. 13, 37-year-old Reuters reporter, Issam Abdallah, was killed in Lebanon while covering Israeli rockets fired across the border between Israel and Lebanon. Six other journalists working for Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Agency France-Presse were injured in the attack. 

Reporters Without Borders opened an investigation into the death of Issam Abdallah 10 days later, and concluded that the vehicle of the journalist was “explicitly targeted.” Investigations claim that journalists were in the spot where they were killed for over an hour and that they were wearing helmets and press-branded bulletproof waistcoats. The reporters were identified by the Israeli helicopters that flew over them two hours prior to the attack. 

Airstrikes from Israel are one the of the major causes of the increased death toll of both journalists and civilians.  

Palestinian journalist Abdulhadi Habib, working for Al-Manara News Agency and HQ News Agency, was killed on Oct. 16 along with his family members due to a missile strike that hit his house. 

Another Palestinian journalist and podcast presenter Ayat Khadoura, was killed with her family members during an Israeli airstrike that hit her house in Beit Lahiya, a city in the North of the Gaza Strip. 

Khadoura documented her last moments in a video while describing the violence surrounding her. The video shows the journalist praying to Allah to have mercy on her and her family. 

In November, Mohammad Abu Hatab, a correspondent for the Palestinian news channel, The Wafa news agency, was killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The airstrike affected 42 of his family members. The Israeli Forces (IDF) said that the attack was aimed at targeting Hamas members, accusing the group of carrying out military operations near civilians and journalists.  

Salman Al-Bashir, a colleague of Mohammad Abu Hatab said that not even protective gear can save the lives of journalists. 

On Nov. 19, Bilal Jadallah, a journalist and the general director of the Press House Palestine, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said: “This crime and the previous ones confirm that the occupation has placed journalists in its bank of goals to silence the voice of truth that is being heard all over the earth.” 

Press House Palestine, the independent and non-profit media institution to protect journalists from air strikes, is facilitating accommodation in their headquarters in the Gaza Strip. The NGO is also distributing safety equipment such as protective vests and helmets while reporting.  

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Suggested Readings:

Is What’s Happening in Gaza a Genocide? Experts Weigh In 

Over 75% of all journalists killed in 2023 died in Gaza War, per CPJ 

Death, exhaustion and suspicion: AFP journalists on the horrors of Gaza