According to the IFJ's data, 55 Palestinian media workers were killed in 2024 amid the ongoing Israel's offensive in Gaza.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported on Tuesday that 2024 has been "particularly deadly" for journalists, with 104 killed worldwide, out of which, more than half were killed in Gaza.
The IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger in a statement to AFP said that while the death toll for 2024 is lower than the 129 fatalities of journalists recorded in 2023, it still marks "one of the worst years" on record.
According to the IFJ's data, 55 Palestinian media workers were killed in 2024 amid the ongoing Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, at least 138 Palestinian journalists have lost their lives, the federation added.
Bellanger condemned the "massacre unfolding before the eyes of the world," highlighting that many journalists in Gaza were deliberately targeted, while others were caught in the crossfire of the conflict.
Based on the IFJ’s data, after the Middle East, Asia emerged as the second most dangerous region for journalists, with 20 killed, including six in Pakistan, five in Bangladesh, and three in India.
In Europe, the ongoing war in Ukraine claimed the lives of four journalists in 2024.
Additionally, the IFJ reported a sharp increase in journalist imprisonments globally, with 520 journalists currently behind bars, up from 427 last year.
China topped the list of the worst jailers of journalists, with 135 detained, including in Hong Kong, where the authorities' national security laws have drawn widespread international criticism for stifling dissent and curbing freedoms.
The IFJ’s count of journalist deaths typically exceeds that of Reporters Without Borders, due to differences in their methodologies.
Reporters Without Borders reported 54 journalists and two collaborators killed in 2023, and it will release its own figure for 2024 later this week.
In Nigeria, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in August reported that at least 56 journalists had been assaulted or harassed by security forces or unidentified citizens while covering protests including the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The CPJ report also noted that in Kenya, at least a dozen journalists had been targeted by security personnel during weeks of youth-led protests since June, with at least one reporter shot with rubber bullets and several others hit with teargas canisters.
Meanwhile, Ugandan police and soldiers used force to quash similar demonstrations over corruption and high living costs, while a Ghanaian court banned planned protests.