The International Federation of Journalists records that 94 journalists and media workers, including 9 women, have been killed in 2023. Since 7 October, more than one journalist a day has lost their lives during the war in Gaza, a scale and pace of loss of media professionals’ lives without precedent. Publishing ahead of International Human Rights Day, on the 10th December, the IFJ insists that far greater action is required from the international community to safeguard journalists’ lives and hold to account their attackers.
This year, like 2022, was marked by the deaths of journalists in war. In 2023 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip have been the victims of indiscriminate bombing by the Israeli army. The IFJ calls on international authorities to ensure that international law is respected and to put an end to the massacre of journalists in Gaza. “The international community, and more particularly the International Criminal Court, must face up to its responsibilities and thoroughly investigate, and where appropriate bring prosecutions to those who have ordered and carried out attacks on journalists,” says the IFJ.
The war in Gaza has been more deadly for journalists than any single conflict since the IFJ began recording journalists killed in the line of duty in 1990. The IFJ has recorded 68 journalists killed since the Hamas attack on 7 October. “This year, 72% of journalists killed worldwide have been killed in the Gaza conflict,” the Federation records.
Sixty-one Palestinian journalists were killed in the Gaza strip. Four Israeli journalists were killed in the first hours of the Hamas attack on 7 October: two during the Supernova music festival and two were murdered in the kibbutzes of Nahal Oz and Kfar Aza. Three Lebanese journalists were killed on 13 October and 21 November in Israeli shootings while filming a report on the border between the two countries.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, the IFJ counts 3 media workers killed in Syria.
In Europe, Ukraine remains a dangerous country for journalists. This year three journalists and media workers – Ukrainian (1), Russian (1) and French (1) – have been killed in the Ukrainian war.
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Source: IFJ
