RSF says Israel killed highest number of journalists again this year

Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed this year worldwide, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza.

In its annual report, the Paris-based media freedom group said the total number of journalists killed reached 67 globally this year, slightly up from the 66 killed in 2024.

Israeli forces accounted for 43 per cent of the total, making them “the worst enemy of journalists”, RSF said in its report, which documented deaths over 12 months from December 2024.

In total, since the start of hostilities in Gaza in October 2023, nearly 220 journalists have died, making Israel the biggest killer of journalists worldwide for three years running, RSF data showed.

In response to the accusation, the Israeli military told Agence France-Presse that it “does not deliberately target journalists” and noted that “being in an active combat zone carries inherent risks”.

It also said that there have been “dozens of examples of journalists who are active in terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip”.