More than 50 journalists killed in Israel-Gaza war
The first month of the Israel-Gaza war is now the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began documenting journalist fatalities in 1992.
As of November 21, CPJ’s investigations showed at least 53 journalists and media workers were among more than 14,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 13,000 deaths in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 in Israel. This deadly toll is coupled with harassment, detentions, and other reporting obstructions in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and beyond.
Israeli forces, in the midst of a ground offensive in Gaza, have told news agencies that they cannot guarantee safety of journalists working there. A fourth communications blackout was partially restored over the weekend, but some journalists are still reporting communications difficulties.
CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, detained or missing in the war. The results of these investigations, which are based on testimonies of CPJ sources in the region and media reports, are published here. It is unclear whether all 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 regularly.
Editor’s note: The list below is CPJ’s most complete account of journalist deaths in the war. Our database will not reflect many of these casualties until we have fully investigated 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 month for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
As of November 21, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 53 journalists and media workers were among the more than 14,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with over 13,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel. The second-deadliest day for journalist deaths occurred on November 18, with five killed; the deadliest day of the war was its first day, October 7, with 6 journalists killed.
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 November 21:
- 53 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 46 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese.
- 11 journalists were reported injured.
- 3 journalists were reported missing.
- 18 journalists were reported arrested.
- Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members.
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 reported killed, missing, or injured:
KILLED
November 21
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.”
Alaa Taher Al-Hassanat
Al-Hassanat, a Palestinian journalist and presenter at AlMajedat Media Network, was killed, along with multiple members of her family, in an Israeli airstrike that hit her house in the Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, Quds News Network, and the Ramallah-based Palestinian news network SHFA. In 2015, Al-Hassanat wrote an article about the 2014 war on Gaza, in which she detailed what she endured, adding that “our role as journalists is now more important than ever.”
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 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 Jordan-based 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 Jordan-based 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 Agency.
November 13, 2023
Ahmed Fatima
A photographer for the Egypt-based Al Qahera News TV and a media worker with Press House-Palestine, Fatima was killed in a strike in Gaza, according to Al Qahera News TV, the Egypt-based Ahram Online, the Palestinians Journalists’ Syndicate, and the Jordan-based Roya news.
Yaacoub Al-Barsh
Al-Barsh, executive director of the local Namaa Radio, was killed after sustaining injuries on November 12 from an Israeli airstrike on his home in northern Gaza, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the Ramallah-based Palestinian news network SHFA, and the Palestinian press freedom group MADA.
November 10, 2023
Ahmed Al-Qara
Al-Qara, a photojournalist who worked for Al-Aqsa University and was also a freelancer, was killed in a strike at the entrance of Khuza’a town, east of the southern city of Khan Yunis, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Cairo-based Al-Dostor newspaper.
November 7, 2023
Yahya Abu Manih
A journalist with Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa radio channel, Abu Manih was killed in a strike in the Gaza strip, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News, Al-Jazeera, and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes.
Mohamed Abu Hassira
Abu Hassira, a journalist for the Palestinian Authority-run Wafa news agency, was killed in a strike on his home in Gaza along with 42 family members, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, the London-based news website The New Arab, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
November 5, 2023
Mohamed Al Jaja
Al Jaja was a media worker and the organizational development consultant at Press House-Palestine, which owns Sawa news agency in Gaza and promotes press freedom and independent media. He was killed in a strike on his home along with his wife and two daughters in the Al-Naser neighborhood in northern Gaza, according to the London-based news website The New Arab, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
November 2, 2023
Mohammed Abu Hatab
A journalist and correspondent for the Palestinian Authority-funded broadcaster Palestine TV, Abu Hatab was killed along with 11 members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and the Amman-based news outlet Roya News.
November 1, 2023
Majd Fadl Arandas
A member of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate who worked for the news website Al-Jamaheer, Arandas was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes.
Iyad Matar
Matar, a journalist working for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed along with his mother in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Amman-based news outlet Roya News and the local channel Palestine Today.
October 31, 2023
Imad Al-Wahidi
A media worker and administrator for the Palestinian Authority-run Palestine TV channel, Al-Wahidi was killed with his family members in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued by the channel, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Majed Kashko
Kashko, a media worker and the office director of the Palestinian Authority-run Palestine TV channel, was killed with his family members in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued by the channel, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
October 30, 2023
Nazmi Al-Nadim
Al-Nadim, a deputy director of finance and administration for Palestine TV, was killed with members of his family in a strike on his home in Zeitoun area, eastern Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency.
October 27, 2023
Yasser Abu Namous
Palestinian journalist Yasser Abu Namous of Al-Sahel media organization was killed in a strike on his family home in Khan Yunis, Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, Al-Jazeera, and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds network.
October 26, 2023
Duaa Sharaf
Palestinian journalist Sharaf, host for the Hamas-affiliated Radio Al-Aqsa, was killed with her child in a strike on her home in the Yarmouk neighborhood in Gaza, according to Anadolu Agency and Middle East Monitor.
October 25, 2023
Saed Al-Halabi
Al-Halabi, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, and Al-Jazeera.
Ahmed Abu Mhadi
A journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Mhadi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and Youm7.
Salma Mkhaimer
Mkhaimer, a freelance journalist, was killed alongside her child in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr.
October 23, 2023
Mohammed Imad Labad
A journalist for the Al Resalah news website, Labad was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, according to RT Arabic and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
October 22, 2023
Roshdi Sarraj
A journalist and co-founder of Ain Media, a Palestinian company specializing in professional media services, Sarraj was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and Sky News.
October 20, 2023
Roee Idan
On October 20, Israeli journalist Idan was declared dead after his body was recovered, according to The Times of Israel and the International Federation of Journalists. Idan, a photographer for the Israeli newspaper Ynet, was initially reported missing when his wife and daughter were killed in a Hamas attack on October 7 on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. CPJ confirmed that he was working on the day of the attack.
Mohammed Ali
A journalist from Al-Shabab Radio (Youth Radio), Ali was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Cairo-based Al-Dostor newspaper.
October 19, 2023
Khalil Abu Aathra
A videographer for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Abu Aathra was killed along with his brother in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as reported by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Amman-based news outlet Roya News.
October 18, 2023
Sameeh Al-Nady
A journalist and director for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Al-Nady was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian press agency Safa.
October 17, 2023
Mohammad Balousha
Balousha, a journalist and the administrative and financial manager of the local media channel “Palestine Today” office in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Saftawi neighborhood in northern Gaza, reported Anadolu Agency and The Guardian.
Issam Bhar
Bhar, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to TRT Arabia and the Cairo-based Arabic newspaper Shorouk News.
October 16, 2023
Abdulhadi Habib
A journalist who worked for Al-Manara News Agency and HQ News Agency, Habib was killed along with several of his family members when a missile strike hit his house near the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the independent Palestinian news organization International Middle East Media Center.
October 14, 2023
Yousef Maher Dawas
Dawas, a contributing writer for Palestine Chronicle and a writer for We Are Not Numbers (WANN), a youth-led Palestinian nonprofit project, was killed in an Israeli missile strike on his family’s home in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, according to WANN and Palestine Chronicle.
October 13, 2023
Salam Mema
The death of Mema, a freelance journalist, was confirmed on this date. Mema held the position of head of the Women Journalists Committee at the Palestinian Media Assembly, an organization committed to advancing media work for Palestinian journalists. Her body was recovered from the rubble three days after her home in the Jabalia refugee camp, situated in the northern Gaza Strip, was hit by an Israeli airstrike on October 10, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
Husam Mubarak
Mubarak, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group Skeyes and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
Abdallah, a Beirut-based videographer for the Reuters news agency, was killed near the Lebanon border by shelling coming from the direction of Israel. Abdallah and several other journalists were covering the back-and-forth shelling near Alma Al-Shaab in southern Lebanon between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
October 12, 2023
Ahmed Shehab
A journalist for Sowt Al-Asra Radio (Radio Voice of the Prisoners), Shehab, along with his wife and three children, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Palestinian press freedom group MADA, and the London-based news website The New Arab.
October 11, 2023
Mohamed Fayez Abu Matar
Abu Matar, a freelance photojournalist, was killed during an Israeli airstrike in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
October 10, 2023
Saeed al-Taweel
Al-Taweel, editor-in-chief of the Al-Khamsa News website, was killed when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper, The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
Mohammed Sobh
Sobh, a photographer from Khabar news agency, was killed when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
Hisham Alnwajha
Alnwajha, a journalist with Khabar news agency, was injured when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.
He died of his injuries later that day, according to the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and Palestinian news website AlWatan Voice.
October 8, 2023
Assaad Shamlakh
Shamlakh, a freelance journalist, was killed along with nine members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Sheikh Ijlin, a neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based advocacy group The Legal Agenda and BBC Arabic.
October 7, 2023
Shai Regev
Regev, who served as an editor for TMI, the gossip and entertainment news section of the Hebrew-language daily newspaper Maariv, was killed during a Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. Regev’s death was confirmed after she was reported missing for six days, according to Maariv and The Times of Israel.
Ayelet Arnin
A 22-year-old news editor with the Israel Broadcasting Corporation Kan, Arnin was killed during a Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival in southern Israel, according to The Times of Israel and The Wrap entertainment website.
Yaniv Zohar
Zohar, an Israeli photographer working for the Hebrew-language daily newspaper Israel Hayom, was killed during a Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel, along with his wife and two daughters, according to Israel Hayom and Israel National News. Israel Hayom’s editor-in-chief Omer Lachmanovitch told CPJ that Zohar was working on that day.
Mohammad Al-Salhi
Al-Salhi, a photojournalist working for the Fourth Authority news agency, was shot dead near a Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, and the Journalist Support Committee (JSC), a nonprofit which promotes the rights of the media in the Middle East.
Mohammad Jarghoun
Jarghoun, a journalist with Smart Media, was shot while reporting on the conflict in an area to the east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the BBC and UNESCO.
Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi
Lafi, a photographer for Ain Media, was shot and killed at the Gaza Strip’s Erez Crossing into Israel, according to the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, and Al-Jazeera.
CPJ safety advisories
As we continue to monitor the war in Israel/Gaza, journalists who have questions about their safety and security can contact us emergencies@cpj.org.
For more information, read:
- Physical Safety: War Reporting
- Physical and digital safety: Civil Disorder
- Psychological Safety
- Physical and digital safety: Arrest and detention
These are available in multiple languages, including Arabic.
INJURED
November 18
Mohammed El Sawwaf
Mohammed El Sawwaf, an award-winning Palestinian film producer and director who founded the Gaza-based Alef Multimedia production company, was injured in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Shawa Square in Gaza City. The airstrike killed 30 members of his family, including his mother and his father, Mostafa Al Sawaf, who was also a journalist, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Anadolu Agency, and TRT Arabic.
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.
Firas Lutfi
Police assaulted Lufti, a correspondent with privately owned Sky News Arabia, along with other Sky News journalists in the southern city of Ashkelon, according to members of the television crew. Lutfi said Israeli police aimed rifles at his head, forced him to remove his clothes, confiscated the team’s phones, and made them leave the area under police escort.
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:
*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.
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