The Committee to Protect Journalists announced on Thursday, February 15 (26 days) that 77 out of 99 journalists were killed in the war between Israel and Hamas in 2023, adding that the last 12 months have been the deadliest months for the media in almost a decade. .
The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that if there were no deaths in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, the killing of journalists would have decreased globally compared to previous years.
According to this committee, since 1992, such deaths of journalists have been followed in the world, this figure was the highest death rate of journalists since 2015, and compared to the year 2022, the statistics show a 44 percent increase.
According to this report, Palestinian journalists suffered the most casualties. According to the report of the Committee to Support Journalists, 77 journalists were killed, two Israelis and three Lebanese.
“Journalists are dying on the front lines in Gaza,” said Judy Ginsburg, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Ginsberg added: “The great loss that Palestinian journalists have suffered in this war will have long-term effects on journalism not only in the Palestinian Territory, but also in the region and beyond. If every journalist is killed, the world will suffer even more.” “
Meanwhile, the Freedom Press Organization based in New York announced that the number of journalists killed in the conflict in Gaza has increased to 85.
The Committee to Protect Journalists had previously condemned the “harassment and torture” of journalists by the Israeli forces and said that it was investigating whether these journalists were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Proving it is considered “criminal warfare”.
Sharif Mansour, coordinator of the Middle East and South Africa program at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in December: “The Israel-Hamas war has become the most dangerous situation for journalists.”
Mansour added: “The Israeli army has killed as many journalists this week as any army has ever killed so many journalists in a year. With every journalist killed, it becomes more difficult to document the war and understand it.”
The Israeli army had previously said in a statement that it would never arrest journalists if they had not been deliberately targeted, but Israeli military officials had previously told Reuters and AFP that they could not guarantee the safety of journalists working in Gaza.
According to this report, the greatest decrease in the deaths of journalists will be recorded in Ukraine and Mexico, where two out of every 13 people will be recorded.
However, the Committee to Protect Journalists has warned that Mexico, the Philippines and Somalia are “one of the deadliest countries in the world for the press”.
This committee warned: “As the situation worsens, government organizations are spying on journalists and human rights defenders, and a significant number of journalists have been forced to leave their homes due to violence.”
Before this record, the highest rate of casualties among journalists was in Iraq. In 2006, 56 journalists were killed in that country and 48 of them were targeted for their work.