Editor’s notes: The list below is CPJ’s most recent and preliminary account of journalist deaths in the war. Our database will not include all of these casualties until we have completed further investigations into the circumstances surrounding them. For more information, read our FAQ.
The Israel-Gaza war has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7 and Israel declared war on the militant Palestinian group, launching strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing in the war, which has led to the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
As of March 9, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 95 journalists and media workers were among the more than 31,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 30,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters and Agence France Press news agencies in October that it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, after they had sought assurances that their journalists would not be targeted by Israeli strikes, according to a Reuters report.
Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict during the Israeli ground assault, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages, and extensive power outages.
As of March 9:
- 95 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 90 Palestinian, 2 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese.
- 16 journalists were reported injured.
- 4 journalists were reported missing.
- 25 journalists were reported arrested.
- Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members.
CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes.
“CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats. Many have lost colleagues, families, and media facilities, and have fled seeking safety when there is no safe haven or exit.”
The list published here includes names based on information obtained from CPJ’s sources in the region and media reports. It includes all journalists* involved in news-gathering activity. It is unclear whether all of these journalists were covering the conflict at the time of their deaths, but CPJ has included them in our count as we investigate their circumstances. The list is being updated on a regular basis.
Journalists and media workers reported killed, missing, or injured:
KILLED
March 5, 2024
Muhammad Salama
Salama, a Palestinian journalist who worked as a host for the Hamas affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel, was killed with his family in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, according to several media reports, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Turkish owned Anadolu Agency.
CPJ wasn’t immediately able to specify the number of family members killed with Salama. A report by the Qatari funded Al-Araby TV in the area showed damage from the airstrikes on the residential area, and Al-Araby’s reporter on the ground, Bassel Khalaf, said at least 6 people were pulled from under the rubble, while others remain missing. A witness in the area told the channel that the family was having dinner when they were killed.