Media freedom group says total number of journalists killed reached 67 globally this year, up from 66 killed in 2024
\n paris
\nReporters Without Borders has said that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed this year worldwide, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza.
\nIn its annual report, the Paris-based media freedom group said the total number of journalists killed reached 67 globally this year, up from 66 killed in 2024.
\nIsraeli forces accounted for 43% of the total, making them \u201cthe worst enemy of journalists\u201d, RSF said in its report, which documented deaths over 12 months from December 2024.
\nThe most deadly single attack was a so-called \u201cdouble-tap\u201d strike on a hospital in south Gaza on August 25, which killed five journalists, including two contributors to international news agencies Reuters and the Associated Press.
\nIn total, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, after the Hamas attack on Israel, nearly 220 journalists have died, making Israel the biggest killer of journalists worldwide for three years running, RSF data shows.
\nIn response to the accusation, the Israeli military told AFP that it \u201cdoes not deliberately target journalists\u201d and noted that \u201cbeing in an active combat zone carries inherent risks.\u201d It also said that there have been \u201cdozens of examples of journalists who are active in terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip.\u201d
\n\u2018Not stray bullets\u2019
\nForeign reporters are still unable to enter Gaza \u2014 unless they are in tightly controlled tours organised by the Israeli military \u2014 despite calls from media groups and press freedom organisations for access.
\nThe RSF annual report also said that 2025 was the deadliest year in Mexico in at least three years, with nine journalists killed, despite pledges from left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum to protect them.
\nWar-wracked Ukraine (three journalists killed) and Sudan (four journalists killed) are the other most dangerous countries for reporters, according to RSF.
\nThe overall number of deaths last year is down from the peak of 142 journalists killed in 2012, linked largely to the Syrian civil war. It is also below the average since 2003 of around 80 killed per year.
\nRSF editorial director Anne Bocande noted a growing tendency to \u201csmear\u201d journalists as a way to \u201cjustify\u201d the crime of targeting them.
\n\u201cThese are not stray bullets. This is a deliberate targeting of journalists because they inform the world about what\u00b4s happening on the ground,\u201d she told AFP.
\nAs of December 1, 2025, 503 journalists were detained in 47 countries, the report said.
\nOther organisations use different qualifiers to calculate journalist deaths. According to Unesco, 91 journalists were killed in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Media freedom group says total number of journalists killed reached 67 globally this year, up from 66 killed in 2024 paris Reporters Without Borders has said that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed this year worldwide, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza. In its annual report, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-519315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n