The Deadliest War for Journalists : A tale of fallen souls

Walking in the midst of inferno, corpses, never-ending weeping of toddlers; rain of bombs—white phosphorus, BLU-109, MK-82, MK-84, GBU-39, JDAM; missiles, sniper bullets—from dawn to midnight. The angel of death showed his strongest appearance, unleashing traps everywhere. A piece of bread or a drop of water is beyond reach; you have turned into a zombie. Ruins are the only places you will bore your newborn; instead of lullabies, kids hear the inaudible thunder of rockets and airstrikes. There is no medicine or treatment. Run! Run! North to South, East to West—otherwise, you'll be punished! Don't you know your entire existence is unwanted? You must be silent, just like in a graveyard.

Dark tunnels are for you—to kidnap your soul, dear one, and leave you lamenting. Shot in the eye, shot in the brain—hatred is stronger than ever to choke you. Horrors, wounds, and anguish snatch all the shine from the eyes. No mercy. The ground is soaked with blood. Bones turned into ashes, and the pitch-black ink of the journalist's pen turned red. The depth of this red is as deep as the Mariana Trench.

Many years ago, Robert Fisk said, 'It's a journalist's job to be a witness to history. We're not there to worry about ourselves. We try and get as close as we can and get the truth out.'- Inspired by him, there are a few light-bearers who still keep going just to give a voice to those who have been forgotten, forsaken, and beaten down. These journalists are in search of Mametz Wood, a certain cure for lust of blood. Journalists covering the Israel-Hamas war are in grave danger of losing their lives. According to the United Nations Human Rights Commission report published on February 1,'since October 7, over 122 journalists have lost their lives. These 122 are not merely numbers, but 122 lives that are extinguished'.

“Since the war in Gaza started, journalists have been paying the highest price—their lives—for their reporting. Without protection, equipment, international presence, communications, or food and water, they are still doing their crucial jobs to tell the world the truth. Every time a journalist is killed, injured, arrested, or forced to go into exile, we lose fragments of the truth. Those responsible for these casualties face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze.” Carlos Martinez, Program Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), says.

Yaniv Zohar, an Israeli photographer working for the daily newspaper Israel Hayom, was killed by Hamas in Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel on October 7. He was killed along with his wife, Yasmin, and his two daughters, Tehelet, 20, and Keshet, 18. Yaniv covered conflicts and major news in his native country and performed as a video journalist for the AP from 2005 to 2020.

On the same day, Ayelet Arnin, 22, a news editor with the Kan public broadcaster from Atzmon, was murdered by Hamas at the Supernova music festival.

Shai Regev, 25, a reporter from Ramat Yishai who was attending a music festival, was murdered by Hamas.

Roee Idan, a photographer for the Ynet news, was killed alongside his wife, Smadar Mor Idan, in Kibbutz KfarAza and was declared dead after their bodies were recovered following the October 7 attack.

'It is crucial to share the truth about what is happening in Israel during this conflict. Journalism is more important than ever! The only way to understand the situation is on the ground, on the front lines, and on the borders. To talk with the people and then report the truth of what is happening. It is dangerous, but worth it. And personally, I trust that God is in control and that he is taking care of me. We should all do our part. In praying, supporting, fighting, reporting, and sharing the truth., Yair Pinto, a journalist from TBN Israel who is currently covering the war in border areas, shares his own experience.

According to the CPJ, nearly 75% of journalists killed in 2023 died in the Israel-Gaza war. 72 of the 99 journalists killed worldwide in 2023 were Palestinians, making those 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade. In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year.

On October 8, 2023, Assaad Shamallakh, 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.
The next day, Ma’an Network offices were bombed in Gaza. Palestinian journalist Emad Eid lost 28 of his extended family members.

On October 10, 2023, Salam Mema, a journalist and the head of the Women Journalists Committee at the Palestinian Media Assembly, died after her home in the Jabalia refugee camp was hit by an airstrike.
Ahmed Shehab, a journalist for Sowt Al-Asra Radio, along with his wife and three children, were killed in an airstrike on his house in Jabalia on October 12, 2023.

Khalil Abu Aathra, a videographer for Al-Aqsa TV, was killed along with his brother in an airstrike in Rafah on October 19, 2023.

Duaa Sharaf, a Palestinian journalist and host for Radio Al-Aqsa, was killed with her child in a strike on her home in the Yarmouk neighborhood on October 26, 2023. 

‘The current reality in Gaza is that journalists are being continuously killed without the need to be on the field or in firing zones, which I believe constitutes direct targeting. As of today, sources have conflicting reports on the number of journalists killed in Gaza, with the most optimistic reports indicating up to 130 journalists. Additionally, 86 local and international media offices have been targeted, including the office of the Ma'an News Agency, which was bombed on the second day of the war. All working radio stations in the sector have also been targeted.' Raed Othman, a Palestinian journalist and general director of the Ma’an Media Network, stressed out. 

“Every morning, we say that last night was the worst night in the war. All days are worse than each other.” the last Facebook post of Abdallah Alwan, a media worker for Al-Jazeera. He was killed in an airstrike on his home in Jabalia on December 18, 2023. 

“To survive every day is exhausting.” In her last Facebook post, Duaa Jabbour, a journalist who worked with the Eyes Media Network, wrote: She was killed in an airstrike on her home along with her husband and children in Khan Yunis on December 9, 2023.

Deaths are just one part of the story. Many are sustaining injuries; others are struggling for food, water, shelter, and care for their families. According to the latest survey by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), more than 200 journalists in Gaza have been displaced. 

On November 18, 2023, Sari Mansour, director of the Quds News Network, and his colleague were killed in an airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp. 

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called the ongoing situation “one of the deadliest ever wars for the media.” Alaa Al-Hams, a journalist for the local news agency SND, was seriously wounded and lost 10 members of her family in an airstrike on her family house in Rafah City on December 2, 2023. On February 12, 2024, she also succumbed to her injuries.

Adel Zorob, a journalist who worked with the Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, was killed in an airstrike on his home in Rafah, along with 25 family members, on December 19, 2023.

Since being hit, journalists have been afraid to wear their press vests. For them, the protective vest itself has become a means of getting targeted. On December 22, 2023, Mohamad Al-Iff, a journalist who worked for the Al-Rai, was killed in an airstrike on Gaza City, along with his cousin, journalist Mohamed Azzaytouniyah. Ahmed Khaireddine, a journalist for Quds Al-Youm TV, was killed in an airstrike on his family home in Beit Lahiya, along with 12 other family members, on December 28, 2023.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, the International Center for Investigative Journalists (ICFJ), CPJ, and other human rights organizations around the world have called for an end to the longstanding pattern of impunity in cases of journalist killings.

On December 29, 2023, Jabr Abu Hadrous, a reporter for the Quds Al-Youm, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp, along with seven members of his family.

On January 7, 2024, Mustafa Thuraya, a videographer working for Agence France-Presse (AFP), was killed in a drone strike along with Al-Jazeera journalist Hamza Al Dahdouh.

On January 9, 2024, Heba Al-Abadla, a journalist for the local Al-Azhar radio station, was killed along with her daughter in an airstrike on Khan Yunis.

Yazan al-Zuweidi, a journalist for broadcaster Al-Ghad, was killed, along with his brother and cousin, in an airstrike on Beit Hanoun on January 14, 2024. 

Iyad El-Ruwagh, a journalist who worked for the Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, was killed in an airstrike on Nuseirat camp, along with four of his children: Loay, Nada, Yazan, and the toddler Ahmed, on January 25, 2024.

Mohammed Atallah, an editor for the local Al-Resalah news website, was killed in an airstrike on a beach refugee camp in northern Gaza City. Before that, due to an airstrike, he lost all his family members on January 29, 2024.

On February 11, 2024, Yasser Mamdouh El-Fady, a journalist for the Kan’an news agency, was killed by an Israeli sniper at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.

Mohamed Yaghi, a photojournalist who worked with Al-Jazeera, was killed in an airstrike on Az-Zawayda town, along with 36 family members, on February 23, 2024.

Abdallah Al Hajj, a photojournalist who worked for UNRWA, was killed by a drone strike on February 24.
Saher Akram Rayan, a journalist who worked for the WAFA, was killed along with his son in a strike in the west of Gaza City on March 25, 2024.

On May 11, 2024, Bahaa Okasha, a video journalist who worked for the Al-Aqsa TV channel, was killed in an airstrike along with his son and his wife at his home in the Al-Qasasib neighborhood in Jabalia refugee camp.

Mahmoud Juhjouh, a photographer who worked for the local Palestine Post Network, was killed along with his wife, children, and mother in an airstrike on his home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on May 16, 2024.

Al Dahdouh, a journalist working for the local Sawt Al Watan radio station, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City’s Al Jalaa neighborhood on May 31, 2024. 

In a recent statement about the causalities, the Israeli Defence Force stated,'The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists. Given the ongoing exchanges of fire, remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks.'