2025 deadliest year for journalists, media workers - NGO reports

More journalists and media workers were killed in 2025 than in over three decades, stated the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) yesterday.

Dpa reported that the CPJ announced in New York that a total of 129 such deaths were recorded.

According to the information provided, most of the deaths can be attributed to Israel.

"Israel was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings in both 2025 and 2024," the report stated in its key findings.

"More than 60 percent of the 86 members of the press killed by Israeli fire in 2025 were Palestinians reporting from Gaza."

In second place overall, far behind, is Sudan with nine media personnel killed.

In the context of the Ukraine war, four deaths were recorded last year.

The organisation also criticised "a persistent culture of impunity for attacks on the press."

Targeted killings

The CPJ classified 47 of the 129 cases as instances where journalists were killed because of their work. Israel is said to be responsible for 81 percent of these deaths.

"Very few transparent investigations have been conducted into the 47 cases of targeted killings – documented by CPJ in 2025 – the highest number of journalists deliberately killed for their work in the past decade – and no one has been held accountable in any of the cases," the CPJ complained.

The Gaza Strip is considered the most dangerous location worldwide for journalists.

Israel has repeatedly accused journalists in the Gaza Strip of being deployed by the Palestinian organisation Hamas.

The CPJ says it has been documenting cases of killed press representatives since 1992.

- Bernama

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