The Gaza war has proved one of the deadliest conflicts for journalists in recent memory.
At least 63 journalists and media workers have been killed over the course of the war as of December 8, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. That’s as many as were killed during the entire two-decade Vietnam War by some counts.
Most of those killed were Palestinians in Gaza, and dozens more Palestinian journalists have been reported injured, missing, or arrested. Additionally, family members of journalists — including those of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief and a CNN producer — have been killed in the bombardment, and the premises of more than 50 media outlets in Gaza have been hit. Journalists covering the war have also faced assaults, threats, and censorship, as well as contended with communications blackouts in Gaza.
Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group designated as a terrorist organization by many countries, Israel has said that it cannot guarantee journalists’ safety in Gaza and has denied them access to the region, even during the recent temporary ceasefire. The exception is those working for organizations allowed to embed with the Israel Defense Forces under certain requirements, including prior review of anything they publish. Despite Israel’s claims that it tries to avoid civilian casualties, including that of journalists, its bombardment of Gaza has proved indiscriminate. More than 16,000 people have been killed in Gaza as of the last estimate by the Gaza Health Ministry, a figure that may be an undercount due to the large number of missing people and a breakdown in communications among hospitals in Gaza.
Hamas, for its part, has also long restricted political expression and the free press, using intimidation, physical violence, and torture to do so, according to human rights organizations. Even before the war, that also had a chilling effect on journalists operating out of Gaza.
All of this has made…
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