Media groups condemn Israel over Gaza journalist ‘massacre’ 

Two separate reports from media freedom organisations that analysed the deaths of reporters worldwide this year found Israel carried out a “massacre” of journalists in Gaza, an accusation denied by the Israeli government.

An annual report published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Thursday found the Israeli army killed 18 journalists – two in Lebanon and 16 in Gaza – as they were working this year.

The toll, equivalent to around a third of the total worldwide of 54, was described by RSF as “an unprecedented massacre”.

“Palestine is the most dangerous country for journalists, recording a higher death toll than any other country over the past five years,” the organisation said in its report, which covers data up to December 1.

In total, “more than 145” journalists have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since the start of the war there in October 2023, with 35 of them working at the time of their deaths, the report found.

RSF has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “war crimes committed against journalists by the Israeli army”.

Following the 16 deaths in Gaza, the deadliest countries for journalists in 2024 were Pakistan with seven deaths, and Bangladesh and Mexico with five each.

In a separate report published on Tuesday, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that 104 journalists were killed worldwide in 2024, with more than half of them in Gaza.

The IFJ and RSF figures vary because they use different methodologies to calculate the tolls. RSF only records journalist deaths in its report if they have been “proven to be directly related to their professional activity”.

The IFJ also condemned Israel’s military. “The war in Gaza and Lebanon once again highlights the massacre suffered by Palestinian (55), Lebanese (6) and Syrian (1) media professionals, representing 60 percent of all journalists killed in 2024,” it said.

For the second year running, the Middle East and Arab World region held the record for the number of journalists killed, with 66 deaths.

“We urge the Member States of the United Nations to take action to ensure the adoption of a binding convention on the safety of journalists, so as to put an end to the deaths and injuries that occur every year,” IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mercer told a news conference on Wednesday that they did not accept the figures. “We don’t believe they are correct,” he said.

Israel denied that it intentionally harms journalists, but admitted that some have been killed in air strikes on military targets. In some cases, it accused reporters of being fighters for Hamas or other armed groups.

On October 25, Israeli struck a tourism complex in Lebanon’s southern town of Hasbaiyya, where more than a dozen journalists working for Lebanese and Arab media outlets were sleeping.

Human Rights Watch condemned it as an “apparent war crime”. The Israeli army said it had targeted Hezbollah fighters but said the strike was “under review”.

In July, Al Jazeera journalists Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi were killed in Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, in an Israeli strike on their vehicle.

Al Jazeera camera operator Fadi al-Wahidi was shot in the neck while wearing a “press” vest in October while reporting from the Jabalia refugee camp.