Israel Responsible for Two-Thirds of Record High Journalist Deaths in 2025

SadaNews - The Committee to Protect Journalists announced today (Wednesday) that 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, marking a new record high, with Israel blamed for around two-thirds of these deaths.

This represents the second consecutive annual record for journalist deaths and is the deadliest year since the committee began its data collection over three decades ago.

Executives Director of the Committee, Judy Ginsburg, stated in a press release: "Journalists are being killed in unprecedented numbers at a time when access to information is more critical than ever."

She added: "We are all at risk when journalists are killed for their news coverage," according to the French Press Agency.

The committee reported that over three-quarters of the deaths in 2025 occurred in armed conflict contexts.

It noted that over 60 percent of the 86 journalists killed by Israeli fire in 2025 were Palestinians covering events from the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army claims it does not intentionally target journalists.

The number of journalists killed in Ukraine and Sudan in 2025 rose compared to the previous year.

The committee highlighted the increased use of drones, documenting 39 cases, including 28 killings carried out by Israel in Gaza, and 5 attributed to the "Rapid Support Forces" in Sudan.

In Ukraine, 4 journalists were killed by Russian military drones, the highest annual toll for press casualties in the war, since 15 journalists were killed in 2022.

The committee stated that journalists are becoming more at risk amid a continuing culture of impunity, pointing to a lack of transparent investigations into the killings.

In Mexico, 6 journalists were killed in 2025, and all cases remain unsolved, while the Philippines saw 3 journalists shot dead.

Others were killed due to their investigations into corruption cases, including a Bangladeshi journalist who was stabbed to death by suspects linked to a fraud network, according to the report. Similar cases have been recorded related to organized crime in India and Peru.