Rabat – Israeli Occupation Force’s (IOF) relentless aggression in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank is now the deadliest war for journalists since 1992, when the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) started gathering data on the matter.
Since its start on October 7 of last year, Israel’s bloody war on Palestinian territories has left a trail of destruction and claimed over 26,000 lives, with most casualties recorded among civilians, the majority being children.
Beyond civilian casualties, the war resulted in an unprecedented toll on journalists, the CPJ announced on Thursday.
In a report, CPJ said it is actively investigating all reports of journalists and media workers who have been killed, injured, or gone missing during the ongoing war.
As of January 25, CPJ’s preliminary investigations indicate that at least 83 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of Israeli aggression.
Journalists in Gaza face exceptionally high risks, dealing with devastating air strikes from the IOF, disrupted communications, supply shortages, and extensive power outages during the Israeli ground assault.
As of January 25, 83 journalists and media workers have reported to be murdered, in which 76 were Palestinians, four Israeli, and three Lebanese. Additionally, t 16 journalists have been reported injured, 25 arrested, and three missing.
CPJ says that it is actively investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of journalists facing harm or threats, along with damage to media offices and personal homes.
The CPJ adds that these reports include incidents of jounralists being assaulted, threatened, censored, and subjected to cyberattacks. There have even been reported incidents of IOF forces targeting and killing family members of these journalists.
Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said that “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.”
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