The International News Safety Institute (INSI) notes a “staggering, almost incomprehensible” total of 81 – eighty one – deaths of journalists in Gaza in its annual report on media casualties around the world in 2024.
That’s well over half the world total of 145 in an area where the Israeli government still widely prevents foreign journalists from reporting despite a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
It compares to 9 deaths in Sudan, the country with the next highest death toll, and 4 in Ukraine.
Putting it into proportion, INSI says that the 81 deaths in Gaza would be equivalent to more than 2500 in a country the size of Britain.
Statistics about journalist deaths can be much contested and those from INSI based on its fact finding and analysis from the Cardiff School of Journalism may be higher than UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed Journalists – as are figures sometimes from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) or the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
INSI members represent most of the world’s major news organisations and it is managed by journalists.
The INSI report says “the aberrant and the abhorrent became the norm in 2024, compelling us to face the ugly reality that media freedom, justice and the sanctity of civilian life have been eroded, even in ostensibly democratic societies.”
It notes:
“Journalists are vital witnesses to war crimes and atrocities, meaning silencing them is an attack on truth itself. Without them, violence and injustice can more easily be perpetrated on us all, a message that has failed to resonate with Western governments. Their deafening silence in the face of Israel’s relentless killing and targeting of media workers has shattered moral thresholds and marked a point of no return.”
The report names “every single one of our colleagues who was killed in 2024” not only from Gaza but also from Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico, Ukraine, Colombia, Myanmar, Iraq, India, DRC, Haiti, Honduras, Cambodia, Chad, Indonesia, Russia, and Somalia.
INSI releases annual report on journalists’ deaths in 2024
Killing the Messenger – full INSI annual report download
UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed Journalists
The war in Gaza – International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Journalist casualties in Gaza – Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Israeli media blackout on Gaza – Reporters Without Borders
