Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported on Tuesday that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalist deaths worldwide this year, with 29 Palestinian reporters killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. According to the Paris-based media freedom organization, a total of 67 journalists were killed globally in 2025, slightly up from 66 in 2024. RSF labelled Israeli forces as “the worst enemy of journalists,” accounting for 43 per cent of the worldwide fatalities recorded over the past 12 months, starting from December 2024.
The deadliest single attack occurred on August 25, when a so-called “double-tap” strike targeted a hospital in southern Gaza, killing five journalists. Among those killed were two contributors to major international news agencies, Reuters and the Associated Press. RSF highlighted that since Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began in October 2023, nearly 220 journalists have lost their lives, making Israel the largest killer of journalists globally for the third consecutive year. Access to Gaza for foreign reporters remains highly restricted, limited to tightly controlled tours organised by the Israeli military, despite repeated appeals from press freedom groups for broader access.
The RSF report also identified other high-risk countries for journalists. Mexico recorded nine journalist killings in 2025, the deadliest year in at least three years, despite commitments from President Claudia Sheinbaum to improve protections for reporters. Ukraine saw three journalists killed, while Sudan reported four deaths, underlining ongoing dangers in conflict zones. Although 2025’s global journalist death toll is significantly lower than the 142 fatalities recorded in 2012, largely due to the Syrian civil war, it remains slightly below the average of around 80 per year since 2003.
In addition to deaths, RSF documented the imprisonment of journalists worldwide. As of December 1, 2025, 503 journalists were detained across 47 countries. China held 121 journalists, Russia 48, and Myanmar 47. The report underscores ongoing global threats to press freedom, with targeted killings and arbitrary detentions continuing to endanger journalists in conflict zones and authoritarian states alike.
The RSF annual report paints a sobering picture of the risks facing journalists globally, highlighting the disproportionate toll in Gaza, ongoing violence in countries such as Mexico, Ukraine, and Sudan, and the continued detention of reporters in authoritarian regimes, all of which pose serious challenges to media freedom and accountability worldwide.
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