Israel responsible for 43% of journalists killed globally in 2025 – RSF

Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, has revealed that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed worldwide in 2025, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza.

In its annual report released on Tuesday, the Paris-based media freedom organisation said 67 journalists were killed globally in 2025, an increase from 66 in 2024.

RSF said Israeli forces accounted for 43 percent of the total, describing them as “the worst enemy of journalists,” in its findings covering deaths recorded from December 2024.

The group highlighted the most deadly single incident as a “double-tap” strike on a hospital in south Gaza on August 25, which killed five journalists, including two contributors to Reuters and the Associated Press.

RSF data shows that nearly 220 journalists have been killed since the Gaza war began in October 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel, making Israel the deadliest country for journalists for three consecutive years.

The Israeli military maintains that its raids and shelling target Hamas fighters and leaders. ‘Not stray bullets’

Foreign journalists remain unable to enter Gaza except on controlled tours organised by the Israeli military, despite appeals from media and press freedom groups for unrestricted access.

The RSF report also noted that 2025 was Mexico’s deadliest year for journalists in at least three years, with nine reporters killed, despite President Claudia Sheinbaum’s pledge to improve their protection.

Ukraine, with three journalist deaths, and Sudan, with four, were also listed among the most dangerous countries for media professionals.

The global toll in 2025 remained lower than the peak of 142 deaths recorded in 2012 at the height of the Syrian civil war, and below the long-term annual average of around 80 since 2003.

RSF editorial director Anne Bocandé said there is a growing tendency to “smear” journalists as a means to “justify” attacks on them.

“These are not stray bullets. This is a deliberate targeting of journalists because they inform the world about what’s happening on the ground,” she told AFP.

The report further documented the number of journalists jailed for their work, identifying China with 121 detainees, Russia with 48, and Myanmar with 47 as the most repressive countries.

As of December 1, 2025, a total of 503 journalists were imprisoned across 47 countries, according to RSF.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which uses different criteria for recording journalist deaths, reported 91 killings in 2025.

(AFP)

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