CPJ review confirms: Israel still responsible for majority of killings of journalists and media workers worldwide since 2023
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has documented the killing of journalists and media workers in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7, 2023. In June 2026, CPJ announced a comprehensive review of its database after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad published obituaries identifying as combatants a number of individuals whom CPJ had documented as journalists or media workers.
Free Press Unlimited commends CPJ’s efforts to review cases and keep improving its database, when credible new information becomes available. It shows commitment to continuous improvement of their data, which increases trustworthiness.
The first phase of the review, covering 229 cases, was completed in July and its findings were presented in a confidential internal report on July 7. CPJ subsequently commissioned an external audit to assess the review’s process and findings. The findings of the review and audit were published on September 24.
Scale of journalist killings unparalleled
As a result of new information obtained through the review, CPJ removed 22 individuals previously listed as journalists or media workers from its database: newly surfaced information identified 19 individuals as combatants, while the remaining three were found to be non-journalist civilians. CPJ also reinstated six individuals and reclassified 12 cases from journalist to media worker, or vice versa. Even after these changes, the scale of journalist killings in the conflict remains unparalleled.
FPU supports CPJ’s intention to commission an external International Humanitarian Law expert to review its criteria concerning work in military media units and publish the findings. In situations of armed conflict, determining whether an individual is participating in hostilities is highly complex and directly relevant to the protections afforded to journalists as civilians under international humanitarian law.
No justice
Not a single of the 191 journalist killings has resulted in justice, despite promises of investigations. No attack on any journalist should go unpunished. Despite this impunity, journalists in Palestine continue their work resiliently. As Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif wrote in his farewell message, when he was expecting to get killed: “I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification. [...] I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you.”
