There Has Never Been A Deadlier Time To Be A Journalist, Watchdog Report Says
At least 124 journalists were killed internationally last year, 70% of which Israel is responsible for, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists' 2024 Killed Report first obtained by HuffPost. That total surpasses CPJ's previous record high of 113 killed in 2007, when the Iraq War made up nearly half the journalist casualties.
'The number of conflicts globally – whether political, criminal or military in nature – has doubled in the past five years, and this is reflected in the high number of deaths of journalists in nations such as Sudan, Pakistan and Myanmar,' the report said. 'But the toll of conflict on the press is most glaring in the unprecedented number of journalists and media workers killed in the Israel-Gaza war, 85 in 2024, and 78 in 2023.'
The numbers are even higher when attributed to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, which recorded 102 journalists killed in 2023 and 91 in 2024. This does not include journalists who are imprisoned, nor those who are alive but wounded.
'The targeting of journalists' families, the destruction of homes, and the use of live ammunition reflect a deliberate strategy to instill fear and silence those reporting the truth,' the syndicate said in its report last month. 'These actions defy international conventions and norms, with no precedent for such systematic violence against journalists anywhere else in the world.'
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Force did not immediately respond to HuffPost's request for comment.
The context around the disproportionate attacks on the press in Gaza includes that virtually all on-the-ground reporting came from local journalists, who try balancing survival and displacement with covering the war. Gaza journalists like Bisan Owda and Hind Khoudary have spoken about the difficulty in trying to report when there is no food, shelter or health care.
'They were living the war – which we've seen has been devastating for Gaza – at the same time they were reporting,' CPJ program director Carlos Martínez de la Serna told HuffPost, adding that Palestinians journalists would also often face smear campaigns by Israeli authorities, who would attempt to paint the press as terrorists.
'So we documented the cases of journalists being killed while they were directly reporting, but also when they were getting some rest near a hospital that was bombed. Getting some flour, and that was bombed. When they were displaced, when they were enduring all the circumstances of the civilian population,' he continued. 'So them, as civilians, should be protected. And they haven't been protected.'
Martínez de la Serna also highlighted the disproportionate killing of freelance journalists, who often do the same reporting with fewer resources and higher safety risk. Freelancers made up more than a third of all killings in 2024, and 31 cases of freelancers killed were Palestinians in Gaza.
'Many Gaza journalists became freelancers after their outlets were destroyed, their coverage proving crucial for global media outlets because Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering the Strip except on tightly controlled visits led by the military,' the CPJ report said.
While the press freedom and safety during Israel's military campaign in Gaza has alarmed the world, CPJ stressed that journalists everywhere are facing an increase in violence due to global conflict, political unrest and distrust of the media. Sudan has seen little international attention on its civil war that has killed thousands, including journalists.
'Attacking journalists reverberates across the profession. Only one attack needs to be taken very seriously. Justice needs to be pursued and the attack needs to be condemned,' Martínez de la Serna said. 'And the opposite is indulging in selective rhetoric that vilifies journalism when you disagree just with the outcome of that reporting or on anything else.
'That's a threat that contributes to this environment that is in many countries around the world, and that is in the U.S. as well.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
Huckabee Calls Death of Palestinian-American in West Bank ‘Terrorism'
The United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Tuesday called on the Israeli authorities to 'aggressively investigate' the death of a 20-year-old Palestinian-American citizen in a clash on Friday with Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, calling his killing a 'murder' and a 'criminal and terrorist act.' Mr. Huckabee, who has been vocal about his support for settlement in the occupied West Bank — which is widely viewed as illegal in the international community — used uncharacteristically strong language in his statement condemning the death of Sayfollah Musallet, a young Floridian who had been visiting his family in the area. 'There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act,' Mr. Huckabee said. The ambassador's demand comes amid a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank during the war with Hamas in Gaza. Mr. Musallet was one of two Palestinian men who died in the violence near the northern West Bank town of Sinjil on Friday. The other, Mohammad Shalabi, 23, was shot during a confrontation between settlers and Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, though it was not clear who had shot him as armed settlers and soldiers had both been present on the scene. The Israeli military has neither confirmed nor denied the two deaths, saying only that there had been a violent exchange between Palestinians and Israeli civilians near Sinjil, and that the domestic intelligence agency and police were looking into reported casualties. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has confirmed Mr. Musallet's death, as well as his American citizenship. Exactly how Friday's clash unfolded is unclear. The Israeli military has said that confrontations began when Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli civilians, slightly injuring two Israelis. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Post
37 minutes ago
- New York Post
Zohran Mamdani sticks to socialist guns, ‘tax the rich' plan during highly anticipated sitdown with NYC big business leaders
He's staying red. Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani stuck to his socialist guns during a highly anticipated powwow with Big Apple business leaders Tuesday — doubling down on his plan to raise their taxes, if elected. Mamdani — who just last month said billionaires shouldn't exist — schmoozed with roughly 100 CEOs convened by the powerful Partnership for New York City at his request, for the first of two days of scheduled meetings with business bigs. Advertisement 4 Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is standing his ground on raising taxes if elected during a highly anticipated meeting with NYC business leaders on Tuesday. Paul Martinka The 90-minute meeting's temperature remained low, even as Mamdani was grilled about his communist-tinged and anti-Israel comments, including his refusal to condemn the 'globalize the intifada' rallying cry, one attendee told The Post. Asked about his intent to slap the ultra-wealthy and corporations, Mamdani told the executives that taxes had been raised on those groups in the past without it resulting in an exodus of high-earners from the Big Apple, the source said. Advertisement 'He didn't back away from any policy position, though he did so in a non-confrontational manner,' the attendee dished. 'It shows he's a good politician. He was very confident.' The slick Mamdani also distanced himself from his past use of the phrase 'seizing the means of production,' a Marxist concept, but in a roundabout way, chalking it up to a rookie mistake, another business bigwig in attendance said. 'It was very frustrating,' the source said. Advertisement 'He talks so much and says so little.' 4 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, along with other business leaders, snubbed the sitdown with the Democratic mayoral candidate. Bloomberg via Getty Images The sit-down — which was requested by Mamdani and will be followed by a Wednesday confab with tech industry leaders — was pointedly snubbed by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who sits on the Partnership's board, and other Wall Street titans, many of whom sent non-executive underlings, sources said. 'Everyone is just in listening mode,' joked one banking bigwig. Advertisement Dimon — who branded Mamdani a 'Marxist' at an event in Ireland last week — begged off with a vague scheduling 'conflict,' according to bank reps. Even with the brush-off, Mamdani's move to engage business leaders shows the 'tax the rich' firebrand shifting toward broader outreach ahead of November's general election, where he'll face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a stubborn ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden. Those in attendance included Loews Corporation chair James Tisch, an ardent backer of Israel and the father of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch — whom Mamdani did not commit to keeping as top cop during the meeting. 4 Mamdani has also been in contact with Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for NYC, who was shocked to see him beat Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. Bloomberg via Getty Images A top rep from Louis Vuitton was also in the room for the confab, held at real estate company Tishman Speyer's Rockefeller Plaza offices, sources said. Mamdani, when pressed about the anti-Israel 'globalize the intifada' cry by the business leaders, said he discouraged its use, according to attendees. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who is Jewish, pressed Mamdani for throwing around the word 'genocide' about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza under Israel, the second source said. But Mamdani evidently forged ahead smoothly. Advertisement 'It was very frustrating. He speaks well,' the source said, recounting Mamdani's response to a question about retail theft. 4 A source closely connected to Mamdani said he has been conducting more 1 on 1 meetings with business leaders across the city to gain their trust, as the individual said Mamdani is 'a savvy campaigner.' Paul Martinka 'He went into a lengthy discussion about people with mental illness. You scratch your head and say, 'He didn't answer the question. Unless you believe everyone who commits retail theft is mentally ill.'' The source added: '(Mamdani) speaks very well, in paragraphs. He's well organized. It's easy to fall into the trap of not getting an answer to your question.' Advertisement The summit came as the Queens state Assemblyman shifts his campaign to the general election after his shocking win in last month's Democratic primary. Mamdani recently picked Jeffrey Lerner, a seasoned Democratic political veteran who once worked for top rival Cuomo, to lead his campaign. He has been engaging with Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for NYC, as he tried to make nice with business leaders who've greeted his surprise primary win over Cuomo with serious concern verging into full-blown panic. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Advertisement Mamdani has also extended lower profile olive branches, including meeting with many individual business leaders in one-on-ones, a source tied to the candidate said. He met Monday with a dozen executives with the Black Economic Alliance, including chairman and techie investment honcho Charles Phillips, sources said. 'He's proven himself to be a savvy campaigner,' a Democratic political operative said. 'The way you do it without angering your base is to quietly reach out to these people.' Advertisement And Mamdani has given tense tycoons plenty of ammunition to justify their fears. He has pushed for a 2% tax hike on millionaires, a 4.5% increase on corporations and unhesitatingly said billionaires shouldn't exist — all of which sparked fears a Mamdani mayoralty would cause an exodus of high earners from the Big Apple. Some bigs have gone on offense against the leftist, such as billionaire hedge fund titan Bill Ackman, who publicly searched for an anti-Mamdani candidate before casting his lot with Adams. Fellow billionaire John Catsimatidis likewise threatened to close or sell his Manhattan-based grocery chain Gristedes if Mamdani — who has proposed launching government-owned grocery shops — wins. Asked about the looming sit-down earlier Tuesday, Mamdani said he was looking for common ground. 'I go into that room knowing that there will be disagreements, and also knowing that the foundation of it is a belief in the possibility of the city, and it will take a new kind of politics to unlock that possibility,' he said. 'And what I will say to them, when I will say to every New Yorker, is that not only is my door open, but no matter of the question of the primary, the general, but that I am looking to work with everyone. 'My interest is a partnership, not in the politics.' — Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy, Hannah Fierick and James Franey
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Evanston teacher preps discrimination complaint as advocates say appeals for Palestinian human rights are squelched
At an Evanston event Sunday, a teacher shared his experience of getting sanctioned by Evanston Township High School for displaying a poster that urges Jews to dissent when they feel it is morally necessary, and other speakers said they feel Evanston schools have censored their right to speak when they tried to advocate for human rights for Palestinians. Speakers with affiliations to Northwestern University and Evanston Township High School, community members and parents gathered at Lake Street Church to discuss several instances where they felt their voices had been suppressed when they spoke out advocating for Palestinian human rights. One of the speakers, Evanston Township High School history teacher Andrew Ginsburg, spoke about how ETHS has sanctioned him twice: once for displaying an image calling for Jewish people to dissent when necessary, and once again for displaying a letter explaining that the first image was removed at the behest of the school district. The letter called the removal of the poster an act of censorship. In response to the sanctions he has received, he said he plans to submit a federal civil rights complaint against the school. Ginsberg, who is Jewish and advocates for Palestinians' human rights, told Pioneer Press that he has done no wrong, despite his job at the high school hanging in the balance after receiving the two warnings. '[The district] has taught us to be relevant to the kids. They've taught us that you can't get the kids to share stuff about their lives if you don't share stuff about your life. I think I've been consistent with that, and I'm being punished for it,' Ginsberg said. The original poster Ginsburg displayed was a drawing of a shiviti amulet that Jewish artist Liora Ostroff created for the magazine Jewish Currents. The drawing was influenced by an essay titled 'Dissent' by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who wrote, according to several sources, 'Dissent is indigenous to Judaism.' Ginsberg and his attorney, Rima Kapitan, plan to file a complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that the school discriminated against him based on his religious identity. 'We feel that the school is violating his First Amendment right and also Title VII of the Civil Rights Act,' Kapitan said. Though his situation has received some attention from Evanstonians, Ginsburg said it is not unique, and that other people in Evanston, including Jews, have also felt backlash and repercussions for advocating for Palestinian human rights. 'This has happened to other teachers. This is happening at Northwestern [and] all over the place. This is happening in the city,' Ginsberg said. 'We like to talk about how progressive we are up here, but when it comes to Palestine… all the institutions in the city have gone out of their way to silence everybody (who) wants to talk about Palestine.' Speakers at the panel represented several Evanston institutions, including the Evanston Public Library, Northwestern University and Skokie/Evanston School District 65. 'You can't talk about Palestine in elementary school, you can't talk about Palestine in high school, and you can't talk about Palestine at college,' said co-host of the panel and former Evanston Librarian Lesley Williams. Last October a student group at Northwestern University, Jewish Voice for Peace Northwestern, celebrated the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at Deering Meadow. The group set up a structure with banners that read, 'Gaza Solidarity Sukkah' and 'Stop Arming Israel.' The group intended to celebrate the holiday for the entire week, but was ordered to leave after a few hours. Northwestern University's Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications Jon Yates told Pioneer Press then that Jewish Voice for Peace did not get its event application approved, and that the group's temporary structure did not follow the university's display policy. But the university's efforts to enforce its own code of conduct and display policy went further than that night, according to Isabelle Butera, a member of the Northwestern chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace. 'We tried again to do this in compliance with these new restrictions, and we were told again that this was in violation, that we could all be facing expulsion, and that it was very clearly implied to us that the reason we were in violation is because our sukkah had a banner on it that said, 'Stop arming Israel' and 'Gaza Solidarity Sukkah,'' she said. 'Since then, a number of us have been placed on disciplinary probation. I graduated in June, and my probation is not up until September… Our club was put on probation,' Butera said. Shirin Vossoughi, a professor at the university, said Northwestern has a history of creating a 'repressive environment' when it comes to discussing Palestine, and it existed before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack against Israel. The university's practice of doing so was exacerbated after the university updated its code of conduct, she said. 'I think the fundamental question for me as an educator is, 'What does it mean for our educational institutions to contradict the mission of the university to such a degree?'' she said. 'We want our students to interpret evidence. We want our students to stand up against moral injustices… They're [the students] punished, and I feel like what we've done essentially is sacrifice some of our education principles and mission in order to protect a state that is enacting genocide,' Vossoughi said. Northwestern University President Michael Schill is slated to appear for a second time before a congressional committee over alleged antisemitism on campus, according to a June 30 Chicago Tribune article. The committee chair, U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican, accused Northwestern of failing to fulfill its commitment to protect Jewish students. Reine Hanna, Evanston Township High School District 202's director of communications, told Pioneer Press the district does not comment on matters related to personnel. Yates, of Northwestern, did not respond to a request for comment after Sunday's event. As of last month, upwards of 55,000 Palestinians had been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, according to Chicago Tribune sources. The war began when Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly Jewish civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and abducted 251 hostages, according to sources. Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with about 23 of them said to be alive, according to previously published reporting. The U.N. human rights office says it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within a month in Gaza while trying to obtain food, according to Tribune sources. Previously, international humanitarian nonprofits oversaw food distribution, but the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has taken over.
