A new report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has revealed that 67 journalists were killed worldwide between December 1, 2024, and December 1, 2025, with nearly half of them martyred in the Gaza Strip, where they were killed by Israeli occupation forces.

In its annual report, RSF warned of a sharp global deterioration in press freedom, particularly in conflict zones and under repressive regimes. “Journalists do not die, they are killed,” the organization stated, underscoring the growing dangers faced by media professionals around the world.

According to RSF, the dramatic increase in journalist deaths this year is largely linked to the Israeli military’s systematic targeting of reporters in Gaza.

The report documented 29 journalists killed in the Palestinian territories over the past year while performing their professional duties, bringing the total number of journalists killed since October 2023 to at least 220, including those killed both on and off assignment.

“The Israeli army is the worst enemy of journalists,” RSF stated in the report.

RSF Editorial Director Anne Bocandet said that many of these killings were deliberate and targeted. “There are no stray bullets… it is indeed a deliberate targeting of journalists because they are conveying to the world what is happening in these areas,” she told AFP.

Separately, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate reported that Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers carried out 57 violations and assaults against Palestinian journalists across the occupied West Bank and Gaza during November.

The syndicate warned that these incidents reflect a systematic campaign to prevent journalists from carrying out their professional duties and pose a direct threat to their lives.

According to the PJS Committee on Press Freedoms, November saw dangerous patterns directly targeting journalistic work, including the use of live ammunition, rubber bullets, arbitrary detentions, and the deliberate obstruction of media coverage.

Two journalists — one in Tulkarm and another in Gaza — were injured by live fire and rubber bullets while covering events in the field.

The report also revealed that illegal Israeli settlers were responsible for 22 of the most violent assaults during the month. These attacks included blocking journalists’ access to scenes, chasing press crews, beating them with sticks, pelting them with stones, and threatening them with weapons.

RSF and Palestinian media organizations warned that the continuing targeting of journalists, particularly in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, represents one of the gravest assaults on press freedom in modern history and called on the international community to take urgent action to protect journalists and hold perpetrators accountable. (ILKHA)