Gaza Becomes Deadliest Conflict Zone for Journalists in History: Report

A new study by Brown University’s Costs of War project reveals that 232 journalists have been killed in Gaza, surpassing the toll from both World Wars and other major 20th-century conflicts combined.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 232 journalists – an average of 13 per week – making it the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded, according to a report by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs’ Costs of War project.

More journalists have died in Gaza than in both World Wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia, and the United States’ war in Afghanistan combined, the report published on Tuesday revealed.

“It is, quite simply, the worst ever conflict for reporters,” said the Costs of War project.

The report noted that it remains unclear how many Palestinian journalists were specifically targeted by Israeli attacks and how many were killed as part of the widespread bombardment that has claimed tens of thousands of civilian lives.

However, it cited Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which documented 35 cases by the end of 2024 in which Israel’s military likely targeted and killed journalists because of their professional work.

One of the most high-profile victims was Al Jazeera reporter Hamza Dahdouh, who died on January 7, 2024, when a missile struck the vehicle he was traveling in in southern Gaza. Dahdouh was the fifth immediate family member of Wael Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, to be killed in Israeli attacks.

In some cases, Israel has claimed that journalists were affiliated with Hamas. In Dahdouh’s case, Israel accused fellow journalist Shabat of being a secret Hamas operative – an allegation that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says has frequently been made without evidence to justify killings or mistreatment of Palestinian journalists.

The targeting of journalists in Gaza – where access for foreign correspondents has been virtually nonexistent – has drawn attention to the mounting risks faced by local media workers. Often underpaid and underresourced, they face disproportionate danger in reporting from the frontlines, according to the Costs of War report.

“Across the globe, the economics of the industry, the violence of war, and coordinated censorship campaigns are turning more conflict zones into news graveyards, with Gaza being the most extreme example,” the report concluded.