104 journalists killed worldwide in 2024, most of them in Gaza, IFJ said this year has been "particularly deadly"

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said on Tuesday that this year has been "particularly deadly" for journalists, with 104 journalists killed worldwide, more than half of them in Gaza. IFJ secretary-general Anthony Bellanger told AFP that the death toll in 2024 is lower than the 129 killed in 2023, but is still "one of the worst years" on record.

According to data collected by the press group, 55 Palestinian media workers were killed in Gaza in 2024 due to Israeli attacks. "Since the start of the war on 7 October 2023, at least 138 Palestinian journalists have been killed," the federation said. Bellanger condemned the "genocide taking place before the eyes of the world."

He said "many journalists were deliberately targeted" in Gaza, while others found themselves "in the wrong place, at the wrong time" in the fighting. After the Middle East, the second most dangerous region for journalists was Asia, where 20 journalists were killed, including six in Pakistan, five in Bangladesh and three in India.

In Europe, the war in Ukraine continued to take its toll on journalists, where four journalists were killed in 2024. The IFJ said 520 journalists are in prison worldwide - a big increase from the 427 journalists held behind bars last year.

📢 On #HumanRightsDay, IFJ releases the initial findings of its annual Killed List:
🔴 104 journalists and media workers, including 12 women, were killed in 2024, more than half of them in #Gaza.
⚫️ 520 journalists and media workers are jailed worldwide.https://t.co/nm2QejW2Vb

— IFJ (@IFJGlobal) December 10, 2024

China is the country with the most jailing of journalists, with 135 detained, including in Hong Kong, where authorities have been criticised by Western countries for imposing a national security law that stifles dissent and other freedoms.

Due to different counting methods, the IFJ's calculations for the number of journalists killed are generally far higher than Reporters Without Borders'. In 2023 Reporters Without Borders said 54 journalists and two colleagues were killed while doing their work. The RSF will publish its own figures for 2024 later this week.