Almost 100 journalists killed and 400 imprisoned in 2023, says report

A leading organisation representing journalists worldwide has expressed deep concern at the number of media professionals killed around the globe doing their jobs in 2023, with more journalists killed during Israel’s war with Hamas than in any other conflict in more than 30 years.

In its annual count of media worker deaths, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said 94 journalists had been killed so far this year and almost 400 others had been imprisoned.

The figure for deaths is up from 67 in the same period of 2022 – including 12 killed in Ukraine – and double the total of 47 recorded for the whole of 2021.

The group called for better protection for media workers and for their attackers to be held to account.

“The imperative for a new global standard for the protection of journalists and effective international enforcement has never been greater,” said the IFJ president, Dominique Pradalié.

The group said 68 journalists had been killed covering the Israeli-Gaza war since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October – more than one a day and accounting for 72% of all media deaths worldwide this year. It said the overwhelming majority of them were Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces continue their offensive.

“The war in Gaza has been more deadly for journalists than any single conflict since the IFJ began recording journalists killed in the line of duty in 1990,” the group said, adding that deaths had come at a scale and pace “without precedent”.

Ukraine also “remains a dangerous country for journalists” almost two years since Russia’s invasion, the organisation said. It said three reporters or media workers had been killed in that war so far this year.

The organisation also deplored