Last updated on 21/11/23

IPI Data on Israel-Gaza War

  • Journalists killed while on assignment: 11

  • Journalists killed, total: 50

  • Journalists missing or detained: 2 missing, up to 32 reported detained (see details below)

  • Journalists injured: Over 100 cases reported (see details below)

Last updated 20/11/2023

The International Press Institute (IPI) is tracking press freedom violations and journalist casualties, including killed journalists, missing or detained journalists and injured journalists, amid the Israel-Gaza war.

Since October 7, at least 50 journalists have been among the casualties of the Hamas-Israel war, according to IPI data, which is gathered through local sources, local media freedom organisations, and media reports. At least 11 of them are currently believed to have been killed while carrying out their work, either while reporting on the ground or, e.g., killed during airstrikes on media offices. IPI’s tally includes journalists killed in Gaza, Israel, and other locations (e.g., Lebanon) as a result of the war.

There are also numerous journalists among the civilian casualties of missile strikes and other attacks. IPI’s is tracking all reported journalist casualties in relation to the Hamas-Israel war, while also providing more specific data on the number of journalists killed while on a professional assignment. Cases where circumstances are unclear and where IPI is working to confirm details are noted as such.

IPI is documenting and verifying reports of journalists killed through news reports and local sources. This article will be regularly updated as the situation develops.

Journalists killed

Journalists killed while working

October 7

  • Mohammad Al-Salhi, a Palestinian photographer of the Fourth authority agency, was killed by a live bullet while covering the events at the border east of al-Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip. Reports suggest he was shot by the IDF
  • Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi, a Gazan photojournalist who worked for Ain Media Foundation, was reportedly shot dead by Israeli forces while reporting at the Gaza Strip’s Erez Crossing into Israel
  • Mohammad Jarghoun, a Palestinian reporter and photographer with Smart Media Agency, was reportedly shot dead by Israeli forces while reporting in Gaza
  • Roee Idan, Yedioth Ahronot and Ynet Israeli photographer, went missing on October 7 while filming the early moments of the Hamas attack in the south of Israel. His body was identified and death confirmed over 10 days he was killed

October 10

  • Saeed Al-Taweel, the editor-in-chief of Al-Khamsa News website, was killed in an Israeli airstrike while reporting on the bombing of his workplace, Hajji Tower on Institutions Street
  • Mohammad Rizq Sobh, a photographer for Khabar Agency, was killed in an Israeli airstrike while reporting on the bombing of his workplace, Hajji Tower on Institutions Street
  • Hisham Al-Nawajha, a journalist for Khabar agency, was killed in an Israeli airstrike while reporting on the bombing of his workplace, Hajji Tower on Institutions Street

October 11

  • Muhammad Fayez Abu Matar, a Palestinian freelance photojournalist working for international agencies, was killed in Israeli bombings in Rafaf while covering Israeli operations

October 13

  • Issam Abdallah, a Beirut-based videographer for the Reuters news agency, was killed during a shelling attack that eyewitnesses said came from the direction of Israel near the Lebanon border. Abdallah and a group of other journalists were covering the back-and-forth shelling near Al-Shaab in southern Lebanon between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.

November 21

  • Reporter Farah Omer and cameraman Rabih al-Maamari were reportedly killed by rocket fire in southern Lebanon on October 21. Lebanese media said that Omer and al-Maamari were killed while reporting near Tir Harfa, close to the Israeli border. They worked for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Maydeen TV, which said that Israel had targeted the journalists.

Journalists killed while not on assignment or killed in unclear circumstances

October 7

  • Yaniv Zohar, an Israeli photographer working for the Israeli Hebrew-language daily newspaper Israel Hayom, was killed during a Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel. Israel Hayom and Israel National News reported that his wife and two daughters also died in the attack
  • Shai Regev, an Israeli gossip and entertainment reporter for Maariv, was killed by Hamas at the Supernova music festival near Re’im
  • Ayelet Arnin, an Israeli news editor with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation Kan public broadcaster, was killed by Hamas at the Supernova music festival near Gaza

October 8

  • Asaad Shamlikh, a freelance journalist, was killed along with nine members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Sheikh Ijlin, a neighbourhood in the southern Gaza Strip

October 10

October 12

  • Ahmed Shehab, a journalist and a program producer for Sowt Al-Asra Radio, was killed along with his wife and three children in an Israeli airstrike that struck his house in Jabalia, located in northern Gaza

October 13

October 16

October 17

October 18

  • Samih Al-Nadi, the director of Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip

October 19

  • Khalil Abu Athrah, a photojournalist for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed with his brother in an Israeli bombing of the Al-Nasr neighbourhood, north of Rafah

October 20

  • Muhammad Abu Ali, a journalist for Al-Shabab Radio, was killed at home in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip

October 22

  • Roshdi Sarraj, a journalist and co-founder of Ain Media in Gaza was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his family’s house in southern Gaza

October 23

  • Mohammed Imad Labad, a journalist for the Al Resalah news website, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City

October 25

  • Salma Mkhaimer, a Palestinian freelance journalist based in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah city along with her child
  • Ahmed Abu Mahdi, a journalist for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Satellite Channel, was killed in an Israeli air strike
  • Saed Al-Halabi, a journalist for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Satellite Channel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip

October 26

  • Duaa Sharaf, a Palestinian journalist and host for the Hamas-affiliated Radio Al-Aqsa, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in her home in Gaza

October 27

  • Yasser Abu Namous, a Palestinian journalist for Al-Sahel media organization, was killed in an airstrike on his family home in Khan Yunis, Gaza

October 30

  • Nazmi al-Nadim, a journalist for Palestine TV, was killed with his family in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza

November 1

  • Majd Fadel Arandas, a journalist for Jamahirat news website, was killed during a bombing near his house in Al-Nuseirat camp

November 2

  • Mohammed Abu Hatab, a journalist for Palestine TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike with multiple members of his family in their home in Khan Yunis
  • Muhammad Al-Bayari, a journalist for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Satellite Channel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City
  • Iyad Matar, a journalist for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed with his mother in an airstrike that hit their house in the Gaza Strip

November 3

  • Haitham Harara, a journalist for the Government Media Office in Gaza, was killed in Israeli airstrikes in front of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza

November 5

  • Mohamed Al-Jaja, a Palestinian journalist, was killed along with a number of his family members in an Israeli air strike on his house in Al-Nasr neighbourhood in Gaza City
  • Mohammad Abu Hasira, a news correspondent for the Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA), was killed along with over 40 members of his family in an Israeli bombing that hit his home in the west of Gaza City

November 7 

  • Yahya Abu Manih, a journalist for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City

November 10

  • Ahmed Al-Qara, a photojournalist for Al-Aqsa University, was killed in an airstrike at the entrance of Khuza’a town, east of Khan Yunis

November 13

  • Ahmed Fatimah, a photographer for Egypt-based Al Qahera News TV and a media worker with Press House Palestine, was killed in an Israeli raid on the Gaza Strip. According to a director at the Al Qahera News, the channel’s crew was covering events near the Al-Shifa Hospital on Saturday before the broadcast service was interrupted and the channel lost contact with the crew. Al Qahera News confirmed his death on Monday, November 13
  • Yaqoub Al-Barsh, a radio journalist and executive director of Namaa Radio, was killed after sustaining injuries in an Israeli airstrike on his home in northern Gaza on November 12

November 18

  • Hassouna Salim, a Palestinian freelance photojournalist, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
    Sari Mansour, a journalist for Quds News, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza
  • Mostafa El Sawaf, a Palestinian journalist, writer and political analyst, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Gaza City with a number of his family members.
  • Mossab Ashour, a Palestinian photojournalist, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. His body was found on November 18

November 19

November 20

  • Digital journalist Ayat Al-Khaddura was killed by an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, according to PJS. She had been covering the situation in Gaza on social media.
  • An Israeli airstrike reportedly killed journalist Alaa Taher Al-Hasanat and members of her family in Gaza.

Missing journalists

October 7

  • Nidal Al-Wahidi, a Palestinian journalist went missing while covering Israeli operations near the Beit Hanoun military checkpoint in the northern Gaza Strip. His family later confirmed he has been arrested by the Israeli forces
  • Haitham Abdelwahid, a Palestinian journalist went missing while covering Israeli operations near the Beit Hanoun military checkpoint in the northern Gaza Strip

Detained journalists

Israeli forces have carried out raids across occupied territories and have detained hundreds of Palestinians, including journalists. IPI is closely following cases of detained journalists. 

The list below is not exhaustive, but includes cases for which IPI has gathered more details.

Local organisations, such as the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA) and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), are also tracking detained journalists. On November 19, PJS listed 32 arrested Palestinian journalists since October 7.

October 15 and 16

  • Sabri Jaber, a Palestinian journalist, was raided and detained by the Israeli forces.
  • Moath Amarneh, a Palestinian journalist, was raided and detained by the Israeli forces at his home in Deheisheh refugee camp
  • Mustafa Al-Khawaja, a Palestinian journalist, was raided and detained by the Israeli forces at his home in Nilin town

October 28

  • Sojoud Darassi, a Palestinian journalist, was detained in West Bank by Israeli forces allegedly in an attempt to pressure her husband, journalist Mohamed Badr, to surrender himself to Israeli authorities

November 2

  • Hamza Naaji, a Palestinian photojournalist from the Wadi Al-Joz neighbourhood in Jerusalem, was arrested by the Israeli forces

November 3

  • Mohammad Zaki Abu Bakr and Jaafar Sadaqa, two WAFA journalists, were briefly detained at a military checkpoint Ein Sinya to the north of Ramallah, in the central West Bank. The journalists’ phones and identity cards were searched. They were released about an hour later.

November 5

  • Somaya Jawabra, a Palestinian journalist, was arrested by Israeli forces after summoning her for an interview for allegedly “inciting” on social media. She was released on bail and placed under indefinite house-arrest a week later on November 12

November 8

  • Amer Abu Arafa and Muhammad Al-Atrash, two Palestinian journalists, were raided and detained by the Israeli forces in al-Khalil.

Injured journalists

Palestinian Journalists Syndicate estimates that there are hundreds of journalists who suffer from injuries of varying degrees. IPI has documented the following attacks by name:

October 7

  • Ibrahim Qanan, a correspondent for Al-Ghad, was injured by shrapnel in the city of Khan Yunis.
  • Firas Lutfi, a correspondent with Sky News Arabia, was assaulted by the police, along with other Sky News journalists in the southern city of Ashkelon, according to members of the television crew. Lutfi said Israeli police aimed rifles at his head, forced him to remove his clothes, confiscated the team’s phones, and made them leave the area under police escort.

October 13

  • Thaer Al-Sudani, a journalist for Reuters, was injured in the same attack that killed Issam Abdallah near the border in southern Lebanon
  • Maher Nazeh, a journalist for Reuters, was also injured in the same southern Lebanon attack.
  • Elie Brakhya, an Al-Jazeera TV staff member, was injured as well in the southern Lebanon shelling
  • Carmen Joukhadar, an Al-Jazeera TV reporter, was also wounded in the southern Lebanon attack.
  • Christina Assi, a photographer for AFP, was injured in that same attack in southern Lebanon
  • Dylan Collins, a video journalist for AFP, was also injured in the southern Lebanon shelling.

October 19

  • Mohsen Maqsoudi, one of the six Iranian journalists from Press TV who were caught in the crossfire near the Israeli Al-Abad site in the vicinity of the town of Houla in southern Lebanon, was injured when Israeli forces opened fire preventing them from leaving for multiple hours. The press crew’s car was also damaged by a mortar shell and several gunshots. Media sources cite Lebanese army saying one civilian was killed. It is unclear, if that civilian was a journalist.

November 2

  • At least four journalists, including Saber Nour El-Din, Abd Rabbo Shana, Haitham Shana, and Ismail Abu Hata, were injured in the airstrike that hit Al-Ghafri Tower housing media offices in the Gaza Strip.

Attacks on media infrastructure and offices

According to the PJS, the Palestinian Government Media Offices and the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA), Israeli bombings have completely or partially destroyed over 50 media offices, headquarters and centres of media institutions, including: Al-Aqsa Media Network, Ma’an News Agency, Sawa Agency, Shehab Agency, Al-Quds Newspaper, Radio Baladna, Zaman Radio, National Agency, Khabar Agency, Al-Ayyam Newspaper, Event Media Services Company, Fadel Shanaa Foundation, Holy Quran Radio, Shams News Agency, Office APA Agency, Al Jazeera Network Office, Palestine TV, “French” Agency Office.

The homes and places of refuge of multiple journalists have also been demolished in the bombings of residential areas causing them to flee or lose family members.