At Least 104 Journalists Have Died This Year, Half In Gaza

At least 104 journalists have lost their lives this year as a result of violent crimes, according to a provisional count by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which places more than half (55) of these deaths in the Gaza Strip.

For the second year running, the Middle East and the Arab world have emerged as the most dangerous region for journalism, with a total of 66 deaths, largely due to the effects of the Israeli offensive in Gaza and Lebanon.

Since the start of the war in the Strip, 138 journalists have already lost their lives.

Behind this geographical area is the Asia-Pacific region, where the number of deaths rose from 12 in 2023 to 20 in 2024.

Pakistan, with six murders, and Bangladesh, with five, top the list in this area, while in Burma and India, three deaths were recorded per country.

The IFJ recalled that before the outbreak of war in the Middle East, much of the focus of the danger was in Latin America, and in particular in Mexico.

The situation in this region seems to be at least slightly better, as the 30 deaths in 2022 have dropped to six deaths in 2023 and 2024.

As for Europe, considered "the safest continent in the world" for journalists, the four fatalities recorded in this study correspond to Ukraine, the scene of a war triggered in February 2022 by the military invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The report also takes stock of the number of journalists detained, a total of 520, which represents "a sharp increase" compared to 2023 (427) and 2022 (375).

China remains the world’s largest prison for the press, holding 135 journalists behind bars, and Asia-Pacific is the region with the most cases, with a total of 254 recorded.

IFJ Secretary General Anthony Bellanger commented that the “sad figures” collected in the report “show once again how fragile press freedom is and how risky and dangerous the profession of journalism is”.

“At a time when authoritarian regimes are developing around the world, it is crucial that citizens are informed,” Bellanger argued.