The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that the Israel-Gaza conflict has resulted in the deaths of nearly 30 journalists since Hamas waged its unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October and Israel declared war on the terrorist Palestinian group, bombarding the blockaded Gaza Strip.
CPJ is examining reports of journalists killed, injured, arrested, or missing in the war, including those injured as violence extended to neighbouring Lebanon.
In #Israel #Gaza conflict as of October 27, CPJ has documented:
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) October 27, 2023
-29 journalists killed: 24 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, & 1 Lebanese
-8 injured
-9 missing or detained
CPJ is investigating numerous further reports & we regularly update this page⬇️https://t.co/D9Tm6rNxmb#NotATarget
CPJ Report
According to preliminary investigations conducted by CPJ as of 29 October, at least 29 journalists were among the almost 9,000 people killed on both sides since the war began.
Journalists in Gaza face exceptionally high dangers as they attempt to report on the situation amid an Israeli ground invasion, deadly Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, and widespread power outages.
As per CPJ reports, of the 29 journalists killed, there were 24 Palestinians, 4 Israelis, and 1 Lebanese. It also stated that eight journalists were injured, while nine more were reported missing or detained.
Furthermore, there were incidences of assaults, arrests, threats, cyberattacks, and censorship targeting journalists on the job.
CPJ is also investigating other unverified claims of more journalists being killed, missing, detained, injured, or threatened, as well as the damage to media buildings and journalists’ homes.
Sherif Mansour, Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator at CPJ, said, “CPJ emphasises that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties.”
“Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heartbreaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats. Many have lost colleagues, families, and media facilities, and have fled seeking safety when there is no safe haven or exit,” he added.
Journalists are civilians doing important work & must not be targeted by warring parties.
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) October 29, 2023
Millions across the world are counting on reporters to provide accurate information about the #IsraelHamasConflict.
Journalists, like all civilians, must be protected—they're #NotATarget. pic.twitter.com/e99Jo9ej0H
Israel’s ‘Targeted’ Strikes
A Reuters videographer, Issam Abdallah, stationed in Beirut, was killed in an attack in southern Lebanon on Friday, which also injured six other journalists, including two other Reuters reporters and journalists from AFP and Al Jazeera.
The initial findings of the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) investigation reveal that Abdallah was killed on 13 October in southern Lebanon by a “targeted” strike from the Israeli side.
“According to the ballistic analysis carried out by RSF, the shots came from the east of where the journalists were standing; from the direction of the Israeli border,” RSF reported.
“Two strikes in the same place in such a short space of time (just over 30 seconds), from the same direction, clearly indicate precise targeting,” RSF posited.
Reuters journalist killed in strikes near the Israel-Lebanon border, deliberately targeted along with six other media workers injured, Reporters Without Borders has said https://t.co/68M7Wy8HbC pic.twitter.com/AZl2m7ZBC0
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 30, 2023
In the report, RSF stressed, “It is unlikely that the journalists were mistaken for combatants, especially as they were not hiding: in order to have a clear field of vision, they had been in the open for more than an hour, on the top of a hill. They were wearing helmets and bullet-proof waistcoats marked ‘press.’”
Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni urged Israeli authorities to investigate the death on Monday, stressing that “eyewitnesses at the scene said the shell that killed Islam came from Israel.”
In a statement, Reuters said, “We reiterate our call to the Israeli authorities to conduct a swift, thorough, and transparent probe into what happened. And we call upon all other authorities with information about the incident to provide it. We will continue to fight for the rights of all journalists to report the news in the public interest free of harassment or harm, wherever they are.”