The killing of journalists in the Israel–Hamas war, along with other acts of violence against journalists, marks the deadliest period for journalists in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict since 1992 and the deadliest conflict for journalists in the 21st century.[1] As of September 2024, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) counted 116 journalists who were killed (111 Palestinian, 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese),[2] and the International Federation of Journalists counted 134 journalists and media workers who were killed (127 Palestinian, 4 Israeli and 3 Lebanese)[3] A July 2024 count by the Gaza government media office placed the number of Palestinian journalists killed at 160.[4][5]
On 30 January 2024, the head of the Committee to Protect Journalists stated, "Israel's war on Gaza is more deadly to journalists than any previous war".[6][7] Israeli airstrikes additionally damaged or destroyed an estimated 48 media facilities in Gaza.[8]Reporters Without Borders has reported that the Israeli army intentionally targeted Palestinian and Lebanese journalists.[8]The Guardian stated that contrary to international law, Israel had targeted Hamas-affiliated Palestinian journalists despite their non-involvement in combat, thus disputing Israel's denial of targeting journalists.[9] In 2023, nearly 75% of journalists killed worldwide were Palestinians who had died in Israel’s war in Gaza.[10][9] According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel was the second worst country in the world for allowing the murderers of journalists to go unpunished.[11]
As of 5November2024[update], over 45,000 people (43,391 Palestinian[12] and 1,706 Israeli)[30] have been reported killed in the Israel–Hamas war, including 134–146 journalists and media workers,[33] 120 academics,[34] and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, including 179 employees of UNRWA.[35] In Nov 2024, the UN published its analysis covering only victims verified from at least three independent sources over 6 months span between Nov 2023 and April 2024 found that 70% of Palestinian deaths in Gaza are women and children.[36]
The majority of casualties have been in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) total casualty count is the number of deaths directly caused by the war. The demographic breakdown is a subset of those individually identified.[37][38] On 17 September 2024, the GHM published the names, gender and birth date of 34,344 individual Palestinians whose identities were confirmed. This reflects over 80% of the casualties reported so far; of these, 60% were not men of fighting age.[37] The GHM count does not include those who have died from "preventable disease, malnutrition and other consequences of the war".[39] An analysis by the Gaza Health Projections Working Group predicted thousands of excess deaths from disease and birth complications.[40] According to a PCPSR report, over 60% of Gazans have lost family members since 7 October 2023.[41][42]
According to a letter sent to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and others on 2 October 2024 by 99 American healthcare workers who have served in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, based on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification standards and cited in a study from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, the most conservative estimate that they could calculate based on the available data was at least 62,413 deaths in Gaza from starvation (most of them young children) and at least 5,000 deaths from lack of access to care for chronic diseases.[43][44][45]
The 7 October attacks on Israel killed 1,195 people, including 815 civilians.[13] A further 479 Palestinians, including 116 children, and 9 Israelis have been killed in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem).[12] Casualties have also occurred in other parts of Israel, as well as in southern Lebanon,[46]Syria,[47]Yemen,[48] and Iran.[49]
The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association has condemned the spate of deaths and restated that: "Targeting journalists is a stark violation of press freedom and international human rights law".[50] The Committee to Protect Journalists stated, "More journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year".[51] In August 2024, Israeli forces reportedly shot journalist Salma al-Qadoumi in the back while she was reporting in Khan Younis.[52]
On 7 October, Israeli police damaged equipment of a television crew reporting in Ashkelon.[53] On the same day, a journalist named Omar Abu Shawish was killed in Gaza.[54]
Journalists Mohammed El Salhi, Ibrahim Mohamed Lafi, Mohamed Jarghoun, Ibrahim Qanan, Nidal Al Wahidi, and Haitham Abdelwahid also faced various forms of violence or went missing.[55][56][57]
On 10 October 2023, the Hajji Tower airstrike destroyed an apartment block housing journalists' offices, killing at least three journalists along with civilians.[58][59][60][61] Salam Khalil, the head of the Gaza Journalists Syndicate's Committee of Women Journalists, was buried under the rubble of her home together with her family in an Israeli strike on the same day and presumed dead. She was subsequently found to be alive with her children.[62][63]
In October, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed and six others were wounded by the IDF in southern Lebanon.[64] A February 2024 report by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank killed Abadallah when it fired at "clearly identifiable journalists", and that this broke international law.[65] The report "assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident", with no records of any exchange of fire across the border for the 40 minutes before the tank firing.[65] The Israel Defense Forces responded to the United Nations report by claiming that Hezbollah attacked them, so tank fire was used to retaliate.[65]
On 17 November, the Turkish news channel TRT World released footage showing the Israeli police attacking their news crew, leading the Turkish minister of communications Fahrettin Altun to say, “This ugly attack has added a new embarrassment to Israel's record on press freedom."[66] On 19 November, six media professionals were killed by Israeli forces in just 24 hours.[67] On 3 December, the Committee to Protect Journalists stated 54 Palestinian journalists had been killed in the war thus far.[68] On 14 December, the United Nations released a statement that said, "Gaza has seemingly become the deadliest place for journalists – and their families – in the world."[69] Following an Israeli attack on a journalists' tent at the Al-Aqsa Hospital on 31 March 2024, Al Jazeera English stated, "Journalists have been systematically targeted throughout this conflict."[70]
In October 2024, the journalist Fadi al-Wahidi was shot in the neck by Israeli forces and fell into a coma while awaiting approval for a medical evacuation.[71]
Killing of journalists' families
On 4 December, nine family members of CNN producer Ibrahim Dahman were killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza.[72] On 11 December, an airstrike on the home of journalist Anas al-Sharif resulted in the death of his father.[73] On 8 January 2024, the mother of Al Arabiya journalist Ahmad al-Batta, and the wife and children of journalist Sameer Radi, were killed in airstrikes.[74] The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate stated on 4 February that 70 journalists had lost close family members.[75] On 28 February, a Palestinian journalist stated that an Israeli bombing had killed his pregnant wife, three-year-old son, and 20 other people.[76] Hussein Jaber, an UNRWA photographer, stated that his five-year-old daughter was killed while his family was evacuating Gaza City in December 2023, stating, "Heavy gunfire broke out, and I saw how Salma was hit in the neck in front of my eyes".[77][78]
Killing of Wael Dahdouh's family
Several members of the family of Al Jazeera Arabic's Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh were killed in an Israeli airstrike on 25 October in the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Wadi Gaza, where they had been sheltering after following the Israeli order for Palestinian civilians to move south from northern Gaza.[79]Al Jazeera condemned the killings, calling it an "indiscriminate attack".[80] Dahdouh, speaking to Al Jazeera, said "There is no safe place in Gaza at all".[81] The Israeli army confirmed it had conducted an airstrike in the area near where Dahdouh's family had been sheltering, saying they were targeting "Hamas terrorist infrastructure".[82] Dahdouh himself was later injured in an Israeli missile strike in Khan Younis while covering the Haifa School airstrike.[83][84][85]
Dahdouh's son Hamza al-Dahdouh, also a journalist, was killed with a colleague by an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in Khan Younis on 7 January 2024.[86]Reporters Without Borders stated it appeared a single rocket had fallen on Dahdouh's car.[87] The IDF said that the pair were traveling with a "terror operative" who was operating a drone and that they "identified and struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft in a way that put IDF forces at risk".[88] According to the Washington Post, the IDF changed their statement the following day, when IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that their use of a drone to film made them appear to be terrorists. After a March 2024 investigation, The Washington Post concluded that there were "no indications" that Dahdouh had been "operating as anything other than a journalist that day" because experts said there was no evidence of any "military deployments or militant activity" in the vicinity of the rubble that eleven journalists had traveled from Rafah to report on after an Israeli airstrike earlier in the day. In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated he was "deeply sorry" for the "unimaginable loss".[89] Wael Dahdouh stated, "Hamza was not part of me. He was all of me."[90]
During the conflict, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) claimed that the Israeli army had deliberately targeted journalists.[8][91][92] An RSF investigation said that Israel had targeted journalists in missile strikes on 13 October that killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah and injured four others. These two Israeli missile strikes, 30 seconds apart, hit a group of seven journalists in southern Lebanon who were reporting on the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In a video, the journalists are seen wearing vests and helmets identifying them as "PRESS". The marking was also present on the roof of their car, which exploded after being hit by the second missile.[93]
According to the Council of Europe, the intentional targeting of journalists constitutes a war crime.[94] The killing of journalists by Israeli forces in Gaza had been a recurring issue, with previous incidents in 2018 and 2021.[95][96] Earlier in 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a report stating that 20 journalists had been killed by Israeli military fire since 2001, for which "to date, no one has been held accountable".[50]
An investigation by The Guardian in June 2024 disputed Israel's denial of targeting media personnel, citing that some in the Israeli military have viewed journalists Hamas or its affiliates media as legitimate targets.[9] At least 23 journalists who worked for the Al-Aqsa media network had been killed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, according to ARIJ, a Jordanian media non-profit.[9] An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed that Israel does not differentiate between media workers and militants working for Hamas, a statement which the Guardian said had raised alarm among legal experts, as under the laws of war journalists are protected unless they participate in combat operations.[9] The UN’s special rapporteur on the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, stated that Israel had "spread disinformation about journalists being linked to militants" and that it failed to prove such claims.[9] ARIJ surveyed 200 Gaza-based journalists, who almost all had been displaced, and reported that their homes had been bombed while sleeping with their families.[9]
On 10 October 2023, amid the Israel–Hamas war, Israeli aircraft bombed a residential building called Hajji Tower in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-run Gaza media office, three journalists covering the evacuation of a nearby building were killed, and an unknown number of people were injured. Journalists were present after a resident in a nearby building had reported receiving a phone call from the Israeli military warning of an imminent strike, and the building was being evacuated. The strike hit another building closer to the journalists.[97][99] Hisham al-Nawajha sustained severe injuries and later died at Al-Shifa Medical Complex.[100]
Alleged membership of Hamas
Israel has claimed on multiple occasions that the journalists it has killed were affiliated with militant groups. The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed doubts about these allegations.[101] The Al Jazeera Media Network also rejected Israel's "unfounded allegations" against its journalists.[102]Reporters Without Borders found inconsistencies with Israel's allegations and stated, "Journalists are not terrorists and the mere publication of these documents doesn’t constitute proof of their affiliation nor does it give Israel the license to kill."[103]
Ismail Abu Omar
According to Israel, Ismail Abu Omar, a journalist with Al Jazeera, was a deputy company commander in a Hamas battalion and participated in the October 7 attacks; during the attacks he shared a video in which he can be heard saying "The brothers advanced, 'Masha'Allah' may God bless".[104] Abu Omar, along with camera man Ahmad Matar, was wounded in a drone strike on 13 February; Al Jazeera denied and condemned the Israeli accusations, stating "Al Jazeera Media Network rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ attempt to justify the killing and targeting of journalists. The Network condemns the accusations against its journalists and recalls Israel's long record of lies and fabrication of evidence through which it seeks to hide its heinous crimes."[105][106]
Mohamed Washah
During operations in Northern Gaza, Israel stated that they recovered documents revealing that Mohamed Washah, a journalist with Al Jazeera, was a commander in Hamas' anti-tank unit, and did research and development for their air unit. Israel released images that appeared to show Washah training with anti-tank weaponry, as well as working with others weapons and drones.[107]
Israeli photojournalists driving in a convoy towards Re'im were attacked by Hamas militants, as they were documenting the scene of one of the massacres.[112] The journalists were rescued by IDF reservists after a firefight that lasted roughly half an hour.[112]
Other violence against journalists
Alongside those killed, missing or detained, the Committee to Protect Journalists has received numerous reports of damage done to journalists' offices and homes, and estimates that "48 media facilities in Gaza have been hit or destroyed".[50] On 5 February 2024, a Palestinian journalist shared verified footage of a residential building in the Al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis on fire, stating that Israel had targeted the homes of two journalists.[113]
In Gaza, Mohammed Balousha, a journalist who broke the story of premature babies dead at the Nasr pediatric hospital, was shot and injured by the IDF.[114] Hossam Shabat stated the IDF had threatened to bomb his house unless he left Beit Hanoun, which they did after he refused to leave.[115] On 29 December, two Al Jazeera reporters in the West Bank were attacked and beaten by Israeli soldiers.[116] The Canadian government announced in January 2024 that Canadian citizen journalist and aid worker Mansour Shouman was reported missing and feared detained or killed while evacuating from Khan Younis to Rafah.[117][a] A journalist had his leg amputated after being shot by an Israeli sniper drone in February 2024.[119] Footage by Shehab News Agency showed journalists being targeted by Israeli gunfire in Gaza City on 20 February.[120] On 27 February, Al Jazeera journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum was nearly hit by an Israeli drone attack, stating, "We don't know the reason for this attack, if it was done to prevent us from reporting on the war… It is absolute chaos."[121] Ismail al-Ghoul, a journalist at Al-Shifa Hospital during Israel's March 2024 raid, stated journalists were stripped naked, forced to lie on their stomachs, blindfolded, and interrogated after twelve hours.[122]
In Israel, a right-wing mob stormed the home of Israeli journalist Israel Frey and forced him into hiding after he dedicated a prayer to the victims of the war in Gaza, threatening his family.[50][123] In June 2024, journalists were attacked by far-right Israelis during the Jerusalem Day march.[124][125] In October 2024, Al Jazeera cameraman Ali al-Attar was in critical condition after an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip.[126]
International response and investigation
Lucciano Zaccara, a professor at Qatar University, stated "I don't think there is another situation like this in any other conflict zone".[127] The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to end Israeli abuses against journalists.[128]Jeremy Scahill stated Israel was "systematically killing the Palestinian journalists".[129]Hadja Lahbib, the Belgian foreign minister, stated journalists in Gaza needed to be protected.[130] Hassan Barari, an international studies professor at Qatar University, stated, "They are targeting Al Jazeera correspondents simply because they want to silence them".[131] U.S. House Representative Ilhan Omar criticized the Biden administration for failing to address Israel's killing of Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip.[132]
Commenting on a statement by a senior IDF spokesperson that there was "no difference" between working for the Al-Aqsa media network and belonging to Hamas's armed wing, Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University, described the notion put forward by the spokesperson as "a complete misunderstanding or just a wilful disregard for international law ... If a journalist is not part of Hamas's military wing, if they are not a fighter by role or function, then they're a civilian unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities." Haque added, "It is shocking to hear that a member of the IDF would openly and publicly reveal either their ignorance or their disregard for this fundamental principle."[133] The IDF subsequently issued a statement distancing itself from the spokesperson's comments.[133]
In February 2024, following an Israeli drone strike that severely wounded several Al Jazeera correspondents, the U.S. Secretary of State spokesman stated, "We continue to engage with the government of Israel to make clear that journalists ought to be protected."[134] The editorial board of the Financial Times wrote of Palestinian journalists in Gaza: "The role of the brave journalists informing the world of what is unfolding becomes ever more important. Yet they are also enduring incredible suffering and appalling losses."[135] On 29 February 2024, more than 30 news organizations, including the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters signed an open letter in solidarity with the journalists of Gaza.[136]
The secretary general of the United Nations Antonio Guterres stated, "I am deeply troubled by the number of journalists that have been killed in this conflict."[137] Guterres's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that "journalists in Gaza have been killed at a level unseen by any conflict in modern times."[138] In August 2024, OHCHR condemned the killing of Al Jazeera journalists Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al-Rifi, stating, "Palestinian journalists play a critical role in informing the world of the reality in Gaza, where Israel has not allowed international journalists to enter. Silencing Palestinian journalists conceals the shocking reality in Gaza."[139]
Lebanon
Lebanon denounced the killing of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed during an Israeli artillery strike aimed at a group of reporters. Following Abdallah's death, the Lebanese army conducted an on-site assessment, affirming that Israel had launched the missile that killed him.[140][141]Lebanon's Foreign Ministry has instructed its mission to the UN in Beirut to express deep concerns regarding what they perceive as a clear infringement on freedom of opinion and press. Additionally, Lebanon is preparing to file a formal complaint with the UN Security Council, accusing Israel of intentionally causing Abdallah's death.[142][143]
Palestine
Abu Omar, an Al Jazeera journalist severely wounded by an Israeli drone strike in Rafah, stated in February 2024, "We will continue the coverage. And we will continue to document Israel's crimes and to show our people's suffering and worries in the Gaza Strip."[144]Wael Al-Dahdouh, who lost multiple members of his family and was himself wounded by an Israeli military attack, stated, "Journalists are facing a massacre, a bloodbath in Gaza" and called "for this massacre to stop."[145][146]Motaz Azaiza stated, "Israel won't allow international journalists into Gaza and is killing those reporting from within. It is a deliberate attempt to obscure the Palestinian narrative and erase the truth."[147]
Tareq Abu Azzoum, an Al Jazeera English correspondent in Gaza stated, "Palestinian journalists are heroes. Sometimes they have lost their family members and in the same hour they return back to stand in front of the camera only for one purpose: to keep the world informed."[148] Speaking to CNN, Abu Azzoum stated journalists "are not supposed to be attacked".[149]
Israel
The Israeli military said it was using tank and artillery fire in the vicinity to deter a potential infiltration from Lebanon at the time Issam Abdallah was killed. They stated that their actions were in response to Hezbollah fire along the Israel–Lebanon border, and the incident is currently being reviewed.[140] The Israeli army also initiated an investigation into the circumstances circumstances surrounding Abdallah's death.[143]
On 9 November, following an article published by HonestReporting, Israeli officials suggested that several freelance Palestinian photographers who had documented the 7 October attack in real time must have known of it in advance.[150][151] Outlets that obtained the photos, including AP, Reuters, CNN and the New York Times, denied embedding their reporters with the attackers or having any prior knowledge of the attack.[151][150][152] One of the freelance photographers, who had previously published a photo of himself being kissed on the cheek by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was subsequently dismissed by CNN and AP.[151] Nevertheless, MKDanny Danon suggested that journalists who "took part in recording the assault" would be "eliminated."[153]Gil Hoffman, executive director of HonestReporting, admitted the group had no evidence to back up its claims, and that they were satisfied with journalists' explanations that they did not know about the attacks beforehand.[154]
In February 2024, Al Jazeera stated, "The dangers faced by Gaza's visual journalists has been amplified by Israeli efforts to legitimise targeting them".[155]
International press bodies
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is actively looking into all cases of journalists affected—whether killed, injured, detained, or missing—due to the conflict.[156] CPJ stated this was the deadliest conflict for journalists in the past 30 years.[157] They have urged Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Palestinian journalist Mohammad El-Salhi, make the results of the investigation public, and promptly take measures to guarantee the safety of media personnel covering the conflict.[158] The CPJ president stated the killing of journalists in Gaza "appear to have been targeted."[159]Reuters has called on Israel to conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Abdallah's death.[140]
In November 2023, Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to begin a priority war crimes investigation into the killing of nine journalists.[160] RSF noted 41 journalists had been killed during the first month of the conflict, stating multiple journalists had been killed by Israel in their homes.[161] Israel maintains records of the place and residence of every person in Gaza.[162] RSF claimed Israel had used targeted strikes to kill journalists in Gaza.[163]
The director of Democracy for the Arab World Now stated international journalists were portrayed by the Israeli government as being biased toward Palestinians, and as a result, soldiers saw journalists as "representative of their enemy" and were thus not punished for killing the media.[164] The International Federation of Journalists stated, "I think this is now a press freedom issue. I think we have to ask ourselves, 'What is the [Israeli military] trying to achieve? Why won't they let foreign journalists in?'"[165] The CJP stated the conflict was the most dangerous situation for journalists it had ever seen.[166] The CPJ's Middle East director stated, "Israel's longstanding record of impunity in journalist killings must face public scrutiny".[167]
In December 2023, Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court over the killing of seven more Palestinian journalists, including Samer Abu Daqqa.[168] On 7 January 2024, the CPJ stated the deaths of Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya needed to be investigated and those who killed them held accountable.[169]
On 10 January 2024, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders signed a joint letter to U.S. president Joe Biden, calling on his administration to do more to prevent airstrikes on journalists.[170] The letter said "credible reports...indicate that the IDF strikes in southern Lebanon on October 13 that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah...were unlawful and apparently deliberate."[171] On 25 January, the International Press Institute stated the number of journalists killed in Gaza represented "the worst killing we have noted in a conflict zone since our organisation was founded 75 years ago".[172] Reporters Without Borders stated on 8 February, "Palestinian journalism has been decimated by Israeli armed forces with complete impunity".[173]
On February 29, 2024, a total of 36 newspapers, including Reuters, AP, AFP, The New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Inquirer, Haaretz, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The Asahi Shimbun signed an "Open letter on journalists in Gaza" coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists against the ongoing killings, calling for all parties to protect journalists and the right to report.[174] In July 2024, the National Union of Journalists condemned "the murders of at least 117 Palestinian journalists in Gaza since the outbreak of war."[175] In October 2024, the Al Jazeera Media Network condemned Israel's "continued" targeting of its journalists in the Gaza Strip, following the shooting of their cameraman Fadi Al Wahidi in the neck.[176]
In November 2024, PEN International wrote that it was outraged by an Israeli accusation against six journalists in the Gaza Strip, calling them threats against the journalists.[177] The International Federation of Journalists condemned "Israel’s strategy of slandering Gaza’s journalists with unproven allegations" and called for an investigation into "Israel’s systematic targeting and killing of journalists".[178]
Protests and rallies
Numerous Pakistani journalists gathered for a rally in Karachi to condemn what they viewed as intentional attacks on the media in Gaza. They called upon the United Nations to take action to halt Israeli aggression against media outlets. During the rally, they prominently displayed banners and placards featuring images of journalists who had been killed in Israeli airstrikes.[179] Journalists in more than 100 countries, and press bodies such as the International Federation of Journalists, marked 26 February 2024 as the International Day for Palestinian Journalists.[180] In August 2024, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra cancelled Jayson Gillham's performance after he dedicated a piece to the journalists killed in Gaza.[181]
Funerals
Funerals for the journalists who had been killed have taken place in their respective countries. In Lebanon, a large gathering attended Issam Abdallah's funeral in his hometown. His body was adorned with a Lebanese flag and was transported from his family residence to the nearby cemetery in the southern town of Khiam.[142][143][182]
Maguindanao massacre, a 2009 mass murder in the Philippines, at the time described by the CPJ as the deadliest event for journalists in its history
Notes
↑ After two weeks missing, Shouman was discovered alive.[118]
Related Research Articles
Wael Hamdan Ibrahim Al-Dahdouh is a Palestinian journalist and the bureau chief of Al Jazeera in Gaza City.
The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place in the Gaza Strip and Israel since 7 October 2023. It is the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. It is the deadliest war for Palestinians in the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Israeli war crimes are violations of international criminal law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide, which Israeli security forces have committed or been accused of committing since the founding of Israel in 1948. These have included murder, intentional targeting of civilians, killing prisoners of war and surrendered combatants, indiscriminate attacks, collective punishment, starvation, persecution, the use of human shields, sexual violence and rape, torture, pillage, forced transfer, breach of medical neutrality, enforced disappearance, targeting journalists, attacking civilian and protected objects, wanton destruction, incitement to genocide, and genocide.
Issam Abdallah was a Lebanese video journalist working for Reuters who was killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank-fire in southern Lebanon on 13 October 2023, while reporting in the context of the Israel–Hamas war.
Events of the year 2024 in Israel.
Samer Abu Daqqa was a Belgian-Palestinian video journalist working for Al Jazeera. He was killed during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war after the Israeli army bombed an Al Jazeera crew in Khan Yunis on 15 December 2023, while he was covering a Haifa School airstrike.
Since the beginning of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict on 8 October 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces has killed ten journalists and injured at least 15 others in multiple incidents near the Lebanon–Israel border and in Syria. Lebanese residents have also attacked journalists covering the war from Hezbollah controlled areas which injured multiple and one instance resulted in the death of a Lebanese civilian guide.
Events in the year 2024 in Palestine.
NGOs and human rights groups have documented violence against Palestinian journalists for decades. Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others have utilized violence against Palestinian journalists, which has resulted in Palestine being ranked 156th out of 180 countries in the 2023 Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index.
The Middle Eastern crisis is a series of interrelated conflicts and heightened instability in the Middle East which began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the war that followed, leading to a major escalation of the existing tensions between Israel and Iran. This has resulted in several proxy conflicts breaking out across the Middle East involving both sides, such as Red Sea crisis and the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Since the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war in 2023, the Israeli military and authorities have been charged with committing war crimes, such as indiscriminate attacks on civilians in densely populated areas ; genocide; forced evacuations; the torture and executions of civilians; sexual violence; destruction of cultural heritage; collective punishment; and the mistreatment and torture of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B'tselem, and Oxfam, as well as human rights groups and experts, including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry and United Nations special rapporteurs, have documented these actions.
During the Israel–Hamas war there have been a very large number of incidents of deliberate killings of people who were not actively engaged in combat. In addition to unarmed civilians, many of the soldiers and militants who were killed - and often reported simply as militants or soldiers, as if they died in combat - were not actively engaging in hostilities at their time of death. There have also been many alleged assassinations, summary executions, deaths in custody, or other extrajudicial killings, with varying amounts of evidence.
Ismail Al-Ghoul was a Palestinian journalist and an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent in the Gaza Strip.
The siege of North Gaza is an ongoing engagement of the Israel–Hamas war in the North Gaza Governorate, Gaza Strip, between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian forces. It began on 5 October 2024 when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reinvaded Jabalia and its refugee camp for the first time in months since earlier fighting.
↑ "Data on casualties". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory (OCHAoPt). Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
14 in the West Bank and Israel by 11 August 2024 (per OCHA oPt)[21] not including 1 mistakenly killed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem[22] and 3 killed by militants (2 near Ofra[23] and 1 near Kedumim),[24] bringing the total to 18 conflict-related deaths for the period
↑ Stamatopoulou-Robbins, Sophia (October 7, 2024). "The Human Toll: Indirect Deaths from War in Gaza and the West Bank, October 7, 2023 Forward"(PDF). Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University. Retrieved October 17, 2024. In addition to killing people directly through traumatic injuries, wars cause "indirect deaths" by destroying, damaging, or causing deterioration of economic, social, psychological and health conditions. Most expansively, this report describes the causal pathways that can be expected to lead to far larger numbers of indirect deaths. These deaths result from diseases and other population-level health effects that stem from war's destruction of public infrastructure and livelihood sources, reduced access to water and sanitation, environmental damage, and other such factors. This report builds on a foundation of previous Costs of War research for its framework and methodology in covering the most significant chains of impact, or causal pathways, to indirect war deaths in Gaza and the West Bank. Unlike in combat, these deaths do not necessarily occur immediately or in the close aftermath of the battles which many observers focus on. While it will take years to assess the full extent of these population-level health effects, they will inevitably lead to far higher numbers of deaths than direct violence.
↑ "Appendix to letter of October 2, 2024 re: American physicians observations from the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023"(PDF). gazahealthcareletters.org. Gaza Healthcare Letters. October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024. These are the most conservative estimates of the death toll that can be made with the given available data as of September 30, 2024. It is highly likely that the real number of deaths in Gaza from this conflict is far higher than this most conservative estimate. Without an immediate ceasefire the death toll will only continue to mount, especially among young children.
↑ "Israel suffocating journalism in Gaza". Reporters Without Borders. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023. In a statement to the United Nations, Tania Hary, the executive director of the Israeli non-profit Gisha, noted that Israel maintains Gaza's population registry, which documents and determines where people live.
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