Wed Apr 02 10:03:36 UTC 2025: ## Gaza War Becomes Deadliest Ever for Journalists: More Killed Than in All World Wars Combined
**Gaza City, Palestine** – A new report reveals that the ongoing conflict in Gaza has claimed the lives of more journalists than any other war in history. The Costs of War project at Brown University’s Watson Institute found that 232 journalists – an average of 13 per week – have been killed in Gaza since the start of the current hostilities. This surpasses the combined death toll of journalists in both World Wars, the Vietnam War, the Yugoslav Wars, and the Afghanistan War.
The report, released Tuesday, highlights the unprecedented scale of the tragedy. While the exact number of journalists specifically targeted remains unclear, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has documented at least 35 instances where Israeli military strikes likely killed journalists because of their profession. These include prominent cases such as the deaths of Al Jazeera reporters Hamza Dahdouh and Hossam Shabat. Israel’s military has accused some journalists of being Hamas operatives, a claim repeatedly denied by organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) due to a lack of evidence.
The report points to a broader trend of increased risk for local journalists, often underpaid and under-resourced, particularly in conflict zones with limited access for foreign correspondents. The severe restrictions on access to Gaza have further exacerbated the situation, making independent reporting extremely difficult. The Costs of War project concludes that a combination of economic pressures within the media industry, the violence of war, and censorship campaigns are creating increasingly dangerous environments for journalists globally, with Gaza representing the most extreme example. The report calls the situation “the worst ever conflict for reporters.”
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