A staggering 129 journalists and media professionals lost their lives last year while performing their duties, with Israel being accountable for two-thirds of these fatalities, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in a report released on Wednesday.

This marks the second consecutive year that the number of journalist killings has reached an unprecedented high, with Israel again responsible for approximately two-thirds of the incidents, as reported by the CPJ, an independent organization based in New York that tracks press-related violence.

In 2025, Israeli forces were implicated in the deaths of 86 journalists, predominantly Palestinians in Gaza, alongside 31 media workers during an assault on a Houthi media facility in Yemen, which is noted as the second deadliest attack ever documented by the CPJ.

Furthermore, Israel was accountable for 81% of the 47 journalist deaths that the CPJ classified as deliberate, or cases of “murder.”

The organization highlighted that the actual death toll could be greater due to challenges in verifying information in Gaza, where access is limited.

The Israeli military has stated that their operations in Gaza only target combatants; however, they acknowledge the inherent dangers present in conflict zones.

Israel acknowledged targeting the media centre in Yemen in September, describing it at the time as a propaganda arm of the Houthis.

In several cases, Israel has acknowledged targeting journalists in Gaza it said had links to Hamas, without providing verifiable evidence.

International news organisations have strongly denied that slain reporters had links to militants. The CPJ called such allegations by Israel “deadly smears”.

A statement from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it “strongly rejects” the claims presented in the CPJ report.

“The IDF does not intentionally harm journalists or their family members,” it said.

“The report is based on general allegations, data of unknown origin, and predetermined conclusions, without considering the complexity of combat or the IDF’s efforts to mitigate harm to non-combatants.”

Most journalists killed in connection with conflict

Israel doesn’t permit foreign journalists to enter Gaza, so all the media workers killed there were Palestinians.

The CPJ report said the “Israeli military has now committed more targeted killings of the press than any other government’s military on record”, noting that the CPJ started collecting data more than three decades ago.

Its report said at least 104 of the 129 journalists killed died in connection with conflicts.

Apart from Gaza and Yemen, the deadliest countries for journalists include Sudan, where nine were killed, and Mexico, where six died.

Four Ukrainian journalists were killed by Russian forces, and three journalists died in the Philippines, it said.

Russia’s embassy in the US didn’t respond specifically to the CPJ report, but referred to past Russian foreign ministry statements accusing Ukraine of responsibility for the deaths of more than 60 individuals working in Russian media since 2014.

Russia has previously denied deliberately targeting journalists and Ukraine denies targeting Russian reporters.

Those killed in Gaza last year included Reuters journalist Hussam al-Masri, killed by Israeli fire in August while operating a live video feed at the enclave’s Nasser Hospital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he regretted the attack, which also killed four other journalists, as a “tragic mishap”.

The Israeli military had said it targeted a Hamas camera, but a Reuters investigation found the device belonged to Reuters.

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