2025 Marks Deadliest Year on Record for Journalists Worldwide

In 2025, a total of 129 media workers were killed, making it the deadliest year for journalists since records began in 1992. According to an annual report released this week, the majority of these deaths are attributed to actions by Israel.

The report details a pattern of "systemic impunity for attacks on the press" by Israeli military forces. It states that 84 of the year's journalist fatalities are linked to Israel, accounting for more than two-thirds of all deaths globally.

Most of those killed were Palestinian journalists. Additionally, Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of 31 employees from Yemeni newspapers.

The findings also indicate that Israel is responsible for most targeted killings of journalists worldwide. Out of 47 such cases documented in 2025, 38 are connected to Israel. The report notes that no other government has killed as many journalists since record-keeping began over three decades ago.

The actual death toll may be even higher. Investigators suggest that restrictions on press access and dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza have hampered efforts to document incidents fully, and some evidence may have been destroyed.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, nearly 300 media workers have been killed according to data from a memorial site named for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

While Israel has acknowledged some journalist deaths, it has claimed they were affiliated with armed groups. These accusations are rejected by the victims' employers and press freedom organizations, which label them dangerous attempts at discreditation.

Beyond Gaza and Yemen, significant numbers of journalist deaths occurred in Sudan—where nine were killed amid an ongoing civil war—and in Mexico, where six died due to violence linked to organized crime. The report also documents that four Ukrainian journalists were killed as a result of attacks by Russian military forces.