The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called 2024 a “particularly deadly” year for journalists. At least 104 were killed worldwide, over half of them being in Gaza.
The toll for 2024 is slightly lower than 2023’s 129 deaths but still makes it “one of the worst years” on record, IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger told Agence France-Presse.
According to the figures collected by the press group, 55 Palestinian media workers were killed in 2024 during Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
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In addition, since the start of this offensive on October 7, 2023, “at least 138 Palestinian journalists have been killed”, the federation said.
Bellanger condemned the “massacre that is happening before the eyes of the world”.
Many journalists were targeted in Gaza deliberately, he said, while some had found themselves “in the wrong place, at the wrong time” in the fighting.
The second most dangerous region for journalists was Asia. Twenty were killed, including six in Pakistan, five in Bangladesh and three in India.
In Europe, the war in Ukraine continued to claim journalist lives, with four killed in 2024.
The IFJ also said 520 journalists across the globe were in prison – a sharp increase from the 427 being held behind bars last year.
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China topped the list as the worst jailer of reporters, detaining at least 135. The mass jailing of reporters in Hong Kong has led to global criticism of its authorities for imposing national security laws that quash dissent and other freedoms.
The IFJ’s count for the number of journalists killed is typically a lot higher than the Reporters Without Borders count owing to different methods.
In 2023, Reporters Without Borders said 54 journalists and two collaborators were killed during their work. The NGO will publish its figures for 2024 later this week.
