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 January 27, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 83 journalists and media workers were among the more than 27,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 25,900 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 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, Reuters reported on October 27.
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 January 27:
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
January 14, 2024
Yazan al-Zuweidi
Al-Zuweidi, a Palestinian journalist and camera operator for the privately owned Cairo-based broadcaster Al-Ghad, was killed, along with his brother and cousin, in an Israeli airstrike on Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza while al-Zuweidi was on his way to see what happened to his home in the aftermath of heavy bombing, according to his employer, the Beirut based press freedom group SKeyes, The New Arab, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Al-Zuweidi, 27, had been working with Al-Ghad for six years, and covered the war and various other events in Gaza, according to the broadcaster. Al-Ghad said that Al-Zuweidi didn’t stop reporting on the ongoing war; he kept filming from northern Gaza and sending footage to the channel after it was impossible for him to evacuate south to Rafah.
January 11, 2024
Mohamed Jamal Sobhi Al-Thalathini
Al-Thalathini, a Palestinian journalist who worked for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds Al-Youm broadcaster, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in south Gaza, according to the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, the Palestinian Authority-run broadcaster Palestine Today, and the Qatari-funded newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
January 10, 2024
Ahmed Bdeir
Bdeir, a Palestinian journalist working for the local news website Bawabat al-Hadaf, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, close to the Aqsa Martyrs hospital. Bdeir was standing in front of the journalists’ tent at the hospital gate and died when a shrapnel hit him, according to Al-Jazeera, The New Arab, and the Beirut based press freedom group SKeyes. His outlet said that he worked relentlessly during the war to cover the news. Bawabat al-Hadaf is affiliated with The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
January 7, 2024
Hamza Al Dahdouh
Al Dahdouh, a Palestinian journalist and camera operator for Al-Jazeera, and the son of Al-Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh, was killed in an Israeli drone strike along with freelance journalist Mustafa Thuraya, according to Al-Jazeera Arabic. They were driving to an assignment in southern Gaza when the strike occurred, according to Al-Jazeera and the BBC.
Mustafa Thuraya
Thuraya, a Palestinian freelance videographer working for Agence France-Presse (AFP), was killed in an Israeli drone strike along with Al-Jazeera journalist Hamza Al Dahdouh, according to Al-Jazeera Arabic. They were driving to an assignment in southern Gaza when the strike occurred, according to Al-Jazeera, BBC, and AFP.
January 5, 2024
Akram ElShafie
ElShafie, a Palestinian journalist working as a reporter and editor for the Palestinian press agency Safa died after sustaining injuries months before on October 30, from an Israeli bullet, according to his outlet Safa, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), and Al-Jazeera. PJS said in a statement that ElShafie required medical attention after sustaining the life-threatening injury, and that it submitted a request to evacuate the journalists from Gaza for that purpose, but it was declined by Israel, according to the syndicate. The syndicate also stated that 25 journalists in Gaza are injured and require immediate medical attention.
Safa said that ElShafie, 53, was injured badly by Israeli bullets when he was on his way to check up on his house, and that he spent the last two months in hospitals. It added that ElShafie started working with Safa in 2019, and that the last report he wrote was about the cooperation and solidarity between Gazan refugees in the war.
December 29, 2023
Jabr Abu Hadrous
Abu Hadrous, a Palestinian journalist and a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Quds Al-Youm broadcaster, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp, northern Gaza, along with seven members of his family, according to Al-Jazeera, Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen, and the privately owned government-affiliated Al-Ghad newspaper in Jordan.
December 28, 2023
Mohamed Khaireddine
Khaireddine, a Palestinian journalist who worked for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his family home in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, along with 12 family members, including his nephew Ahmed Khaireddine, according to the Palestinian Authority-run broadcaster Palestine Today, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and Al-Jazeera.
Ahmed Khaireddine
Khaireddine, a Palestinian journalist and a cameraman for the Hamas-affiliated Quds Al-Youm TV, and a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Quds feed, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his family home in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, along with 12 family members, including his uncle Mohamed Khaireddine, according to the Palestinian Authority-run broadcaster Palestine Today, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and Al-Jazeera.
Khaireddine’s brother, Basil, who was a reporter for the Palestine Today broadcaster, spoke about his brother’s killing to the channel, in a video that spread virally. Basil said that Ahmed wanted to take a day off work for the first time in 82 days and didn’t want to leave the house to report when Basil asked him to go with him, adding: “He wanted to rest, but apparently his rest was forever.”
December 24, 2023
Mohamad Al-Iff
Al-Iff, a Palestinian journalist and photographer for the Hamas government-owned local newspaper and news agency Al-Rai, was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, northern Gaza, along with an unspecified number of family members, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and the Hamas-affiliated Quds Network. Al-Iff’s cousin, journalist Mohamed Azzaytouniyah, was killed in the same strikes, according to a tweet by Al-Iff’s cousin Hammam.
Mohamed Azzaytouniyah
Azzaytouniyah, a Palestinian media worker and a sound engineer for the Hamas government-owned local radio Al-Rai was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, northern Gaza, along with unspecified number of family members including his father, according to a tweet by his brother Hammam, the outlet, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and the Hamas-affiliated Quds Network. His cousin, journalist Mohamad Al-Iff, was killed in the same strikes.
Ahmad Jamal Al Madhoun
Al Madhoun, a Palestinian journalist and deputy director of the Hamas government-owned local newspaper and news agency Al-Rai and the director of visual content at the agency, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-affiliated Quds Network, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and Anadolu news agency.
December 23, 2023
Mohamed Naser Abu Huwaidi
Abu Huwaidi, a 29-year-old Palestinian journalist working for the privately owned Al-Istiklal newspaper, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Shajaiah area in northern Gaza while covering the aftermath of the airstrikes, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Qatar-funded London-based pan Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and the Cairo-based independent website Daaarb.
December 22, 2023
Mohamed Khalifeh
Khalifeh, a media worker and director at the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, along his wife and three of his children, according to his outlet, Anadolu news agency, the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV, and the privately owned news channel Al-Ghad TV.
December 19, 2023
Adel Zorob
Zorob, a Palestinian freelance journalist who worked with multiple media outlets, including the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Rafah, southern Gaza, along with 25 family members, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Middle East Eye, the Palestinian Authority-run news agency Wafa, and the independent Wattan news agency.
Zorob posted Gaza war news on his Facebook page and on WhatsApp news groups. The last news message was sent directly before his death, according to a WhatsApp screenshot CPJ viewed. The Zorob family were among the few Palestinians in Gaza who remained in their own homes in a war that has displaced some 1.9 million people — more than 80% of the territory’s population, according to the Associated Press.
December 18, 2023
Abdallah Alwan
Alwan, a Palestinian media worker and voice-over specialist who contributed to multiple media outlets including the Al-Jazeera owned platform Midan, Mugtama magazine, and Al-Jazeera, and was a radio host for the Islamic University’s Holy Quran Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Jabalia, according to his outlet Midan, the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Radio, the local Palestinian newspaper Al-Hadath, and Amman-based Roya TV. In his last Facebook post on December 17, Alwan wrote that “On every morning, we say that last night was the worst night in the war… All days are worse than each other. This briefly describes the war.” On November 30, Alwan posted photos of damage to his home by Israeli bombing, saying two of his nieces were killed in the strikes.
December 17, 2023
Assem Kamal Moussa
Moussa, a Palestinian journalist who produced visual and written news reports for the local privately owned news website Palestine Now, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to his outlet, Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa radio channel.
Haneen Kashtan
Kashtan, a Palestinian journalist who contributed to multiple media outlets including the local Fatah-affiliated Al-Kofiya TV and the local privately owned Baladna TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp in northern Gaza, along with other family members, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Al-Jazeera, and the Cairo-based Youm7.
December 15, 2023
Samer Abu Daqqa
Abu Daqqa, a camera operator for Al-Jazeera Arabic, was killed by a drone strike while covering the aftermath of nightly Israeli strikes on a United Nations school sheltering displaced people in the center of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to Al-Jazeera and Reuters news agency. He was trapped with other injured people in the school, which was surrounded by Israeli forces, and was unable to be evacuated for treatment. His colleague, Al-Jazeera bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh, was injured in the same strike.
December 9, 2023
Duaa Jabbour
Jabbour, a Palestinian freelance journalist who worked with the local website Eyes Media Network, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home along with her husband and children in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, Anadolu news agency, and the Qatar-funded London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. In her last Facebook post, Jabbour wrote: “To survive everyday is exhausting.”
Ola Atallah
Atallah, a Palestinian freelance journalist who contributed to multiple media outlets, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the house in which she and her family were taking refuge, in the El-Daraj area of Gaza City, northern Gaza, according to Arabi 21, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate. Those sources said that Atallah was killed with nine members of her family, including her brother and her uncles.
On November 27, Atallah wrote an article for the Al-Morasel website about life in Gaza during the war, describing the destruction and damage to her neighborhood and city. Atallah worked as a reporter for Anadolu news agency until 2017. Atallah was well-known on social media, and her last tweet on December 8 asked, “How many more nights of terror and death does Gaza have to count?”
December 3, 2023
Hassan Farajallah
Farajallah, who held a senior position with the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds TV, was killed by Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the International Federation of Journalists.
Shaima El-Gazzar
A Palestinian journalist for Al-Majedat network, El-Gazzar was killed along with her family members in an Israeli airstrike on Rafah city, southern Gaza, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes and the Cairo-based media outlet Darb.
December 1, 2023
Abdullah Darwish
A Palestinian cameraman for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Darwish was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Montaser Al-Sawaf
Al-Sawaf, a Palestinian cameraman for Anadolu news agency, was killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, according to Anadolu news agency, Middle East Monitor, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Adham Hassouna
Hassouna, a Palestinian freelance journalist and media professor at Gaza and Al-Aqsa universities, was killed, along with several family members in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian news network SHF, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
November 24, 2023
Mostafa Bakeer
Bakeer, a Palestinian journalist and cameraperson for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa radio, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
November 23, 2023
Mohamed Mouin Ayyash
Ayyash, a Palestinian journalist and a freelance photographer, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, along with 20 members of his family, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
November 22, 2023
Mohamed Nabil Al-Zaq
Al-Zaq, a Palestinian journalist and a social media manager for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Shejaiya in northern Gaza, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, the Ramallah-based news website Wattan TV, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the International Federation of Journalists.
November 21, 2023
Farah Omar
Omar, a Lebanese reporter for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV channel, was killed by an Israeli strike in the Tayr Harfa area in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel, according to Al-Mayadeen, Al-Jazeera, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes. She was reporting on escalating hostilities across the Lebanese-Israeli border and gave a live update an hour before her death.
Rabih Al Maamari
Al Maamari, a Lebanese cameraperson for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV channel, was killed by an Israeli strike in the Tayr Harfa area in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel, along with his colleague Farah Omar, according to Al-Mayadeen, Al-Jazeera, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes.
November 20, 2023
Ayat Khadoura
Khadoura, a Palestinian freelance journalist and podcast presenter, was killed along with an unknown number of family members in an Israeli airstrike on her home in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the news website Arabi 21, and London-based Al-Ghad TV. Khadoura shared videos on social media about the situation in Gaza, including a November 6 video, which she called “my last message to the world” where she said, “We had big dreams but our dream now is to be killed in one piece so they know who we are.”
November 19, 2023
Bilal Jadallah
Jadallah, director of Press House-Palestine, a non-profit which supports the development of independent Palestinian media, was killed in his car in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Al Qahera News, and the Cairo-based Youm7.
November 18, 2023
Abdelhalim Awad
A Palestinian media worker and driver for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Awad was killed in a strike on his home in the Gaza Strip, according to the London-based Al-Ghad TV, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes. Awad had been working full-time since the beginning of the war in Khan Yunis and had left to visit his family last week, his colleague Ziad AlMokayyed told CPJ via messaging app.
Sari Mansour
Mansour, director of the Quds News Network, and his colleague and friend Hassouneh Salim were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Cairo-based Elwatan news, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Al-Jazeera, and Anadolu news agency.
Hassouneh Salim
Salim, a Palestinian freelance photojournalist, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, along with his colleague and friend Sari Mansour, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, Al-Jazeera, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Mostafa El Sawaf
El Sawaf, a Palestinian writer and analyst who contributed to the local news website MSDR News, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home along with his wife and two of his sons in Shawa Square, Gaza City, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Cairo-based Youm7.
Amro Salah Abu Hayah
A Palestinian media worker in the broadcast department of the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV channel, Abu Hayah was killed in a strike in Gaza, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Mossab Ashour
Ashour, a Palestinian photographer, was killed during an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip but his death was not reported until November 18, soon after his body was discovered, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, TRT Arabi, and Anadolu news agency
Montaser El Sawaf
Montaser El Sawaf, a Palestinian freelance photographer contributing to Anadolu Agency, was injured in the same Israeli airstrike that injured his brother, Mohammed El Sawwaf and killed their parents and 28 other family members, according to the Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and TRT Arabic.
November 13, 2023
Issam Mawassi
Al-Jazeera videographer Mawassi was injured after two Israeli missiles struck near journalists in Yaroun in southern Lebanon covering clashes, which also resulted in damage to the journalists’ cars in the area, according to multiple media reports, some of which show the journalists live on air the minute the second missile hit the area. CPJ reached out to Mawassi via a messaging app but didn’t receive any response.
October 13, 2023
Thaer Al-Sudani
Al-Sudani, a journalist for Reuters, was injured in the same attack that killed Abdallah near the border in southern Lebanon, Reuters said.
Maher Nazeh
Nazeh, a journalist for Reuters, was also injured in the same southern Lebanon attack.
Elie Brakhya
Brakhya, an Al-Jazeera TV staff member, was injured as well in the southern Lebanon shelling, Al-Jazeera TV said.
Carmen Joukhadar
Joukhadar, an Al-Jazeera TV reporter, was also wounded in the southern Lebanon attack.
Christina Assi
Assi, a photographer for the French news agency Agence France-Press (AFP), was injured in that same attack on southern Lebanon, according to AFP and France 24.
Dylan Collins
Dylan Collins, a video journalist for AFP, was also injured in the southern Lebanon shelling.
October 7, 2023
Ibrahim Qanan
Qanan, a correspondent for Al-Ghad channel, was injured by shrapnel in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to MADA and JSC.
MISSING
October 7, 2023
Oded Lifschitz
Lifschitz, a lifelong Israeli journalist who wrote for Al-Hamishmar for many years and was also a Haaretz contributor, was reported missing from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. Oded’s wife was one of the two hostages released by Hamas on October 24, 2023, according to The Times of Israel and The Telegraph.
Nidal Al-Wahidi
A Palestinian photographer from the Al-Najah channel, Al-Wahidi was reported missing by MADA. Later, Al-Wahidi’s family informed the media that the journalist had been detained by the Israeli army.
Haitham Abdelwahid
A Palestinian photographer from the Ain Media agency, Abdelwahid was also reported missing by MADA.
Clarifications and corrections:
After receiving reports that Palestinian journalist and presenter Alaa Taher Al-Hassanat may have survived the attack thought to have killed her, CPJ has removed her name from its casualties list pending further investigation.
*CPJ’s research and documentation covers all journalists, defined as individuals involved in news-gathering activity. This definition covers those working for a broad range of publicly and privately funded news outlets, as well as freelancers. CPJ does not support journalists engaged in breaking the law. In the cases we have documented, multiple sources have found no evidence to date that any journalist was engaged in militant activity.
This text has been updated to correct the spelling of Alma Al-Shaab in Issam Abdallah’s October 13, 2023 entry, and of the outlet Palestine TV in Abu Hatab’s November 2, 2023 entry.
