Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza conflict

The Israel-Gaza conflict has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7 and Israel declared war on the militant Palestinian group, launching strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists killed, injured, detained, or missing in the war, including those hurt as hostilities spread to neighboring Lebanon. As of November 1, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 31 journalists and media workers were among more than 9,000 killed on both sides since the war began on October 7.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters and Agence France Press news agencies that it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, after they had sought assurances that their journalists would not be targeted by Israeli strikes, Reuters reported on October 27.

“The IDF is targeting all Hamas military activity throughout Gaza,” the IDF letter said, adding that Hamas deliberately put military operations “in the vicinity of journalists and civilians … we cannot guarantee your employees’ safety, and strongly urge you to take all necessary measures for their safety.”

Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict in the face of an Israeli ground assault on Gaza City, devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, and extensive power outages.

As of November 1:

• 31 journalists were confirmed dead: 26 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese.
• 8 journalists were reported injured.
• 9 journalists were reported missing or detained.
• Continued attacks, arrests, threats, censorship and killings of family members.

CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes.

“CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats. Many have lost colleagues, families, and media facilities, and have fled seeking safety when there is no safe haven or exit.”

The list published here includes names based on information obtained from CPJ’s sources in the region and media reports. It includes all journalists* involved in news-gathering activity. It is unclear whether all of these journalists were covering the conflict at the time of their deaths, but CPJ has included them in our count as we investigate their circumstances. The list is being updated on a regular basis.

Journalists reported killed, missing, injured or detained:

KILLED

October 30, 2023

Nazmi Al-Nadim

Nazmi Al-Nadim, a deputy director of finance and administration for Palestine TV, was killed with members of his family in an airstrike on his home in Zeitoun area, eastern Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency.

October 27, 2023

Yasser Abu Namous

Journalist Yasser Abu Namous of Al-Sahel media organization was killed in an airstrike on his family home in Khan Yunis, Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, Al-Jazeera, and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds network.

October 26, 2023

Duaa Sharaf

Palestinian journalist Sharaf, host for the Hamas-affiliated Radio Al-Aqsa, was killed with her child in an airstrike on her home in the Yarmouk neighborhood in Gaza, according to Anadolu Agency and Middle East Monitor. 

October 25, 2023

Saed Al-Halabi

Al-Halabi, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, and Al-Jazeera.

Ahmed Abu Mhadi

A journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Mhadi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and Youm7.  

Salma Mkhaimer

Mkhaimer, a freelance journalist, was killed alongside her child in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr.

October 23, 2023

Mohammed Imad Labad

A journalist for the Al Resalah news website, Labad was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, according to RT Arabic and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.

October 22, 2023

Roshdi Sarraj

A journalist and co-founder of Ain Media, a Palestinian company specializing in professional media services, Sarraj was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa and Sky News. 

October 20, 2023

Roee Idan

On October 20, Israeli journalist Idan was declared dead after his body was recovered, according to The Times of Israel and the International Federation of Journalists. Idan, a photographer for the Israeli newspaper Ynet, was initially reported missing when his wife and daughter were killed in a Hamas attack on October 7 on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. CPJ confirmed that he was working on the day of the attack.

Mohammed Ali

A journalist from Al-Shabab Radio (Youth Radio), Ali was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Cairo-based Al-Dostor newspaper. 

October 19, 2023

Khalil Abu Aathra

A videographer for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Abu Aathra was killed along with his brother in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as reported by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Amman-based news outlet Roya News.

October 18, 2023

Sameeh Al-Nady

A journalist and director for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Al-Nady was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian press agency Safa.

October 17, 2023

Mohammad Balousha

Balousha, a journalist and the administrative and financial manager of the local media channel “Palestine Today” office in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Saftawi neighborhood in northern Gaza, reported Anadolu Agency and The Guardian.

Issam Bhar

Bhar, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to TRT Arabia and the Cairo-based Arabic newspaper Shorouk News.

October 16, 2023

Abdulhadi Habib

A journalist who worked for Al-Manara News Agency and HQ News Agency, Habib was killed along with several of his family members when a missile strike hit his house near the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the independent Palestinian news organization International Middle East Media Center.

October 14, 2023

Yousef Maher Dawas

Dawas, a contributing writer for Palestine Chronicle and a writer for We Are Not Numbers (WANN), a youth-led Palestinian nonprofit project, was killed in an Israeli missile strike on his family’s home in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, according to WANN and Palestine Chronicle.

October 13, 2023

Salam Mema

The death of Mema, a freelance journalist, was confirmed on this date. Mema held the position of head of the Women Journalists Committee at the Palestinian Media Assembly, an organization committed to advancing media work for Palestinian journalists. Her body was recovered from the rubble three days after her home in the Jabalia refugee camp, situated in the northern Gaza Strip, was hit by an Israeli airstrike on October 10, according to the  Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.

Husam Mubarak

Mubarak, a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group Skeyes and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.

Issam Abdallah

Abdallah, a Beirut-based videographer for the Reuters news agency, was killed near the Lebanon border by shelling coming from the direction of Israel. Abdallah and several other journalists were covering the back-and-forth shelling near Alma Al-Shaab in southern Lebanon between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.

October 12, 2023

Ahmed Shehab

A journalist for Sowt Al-Asra Radio (Radio Voice of the Prisoners), Shehab, along with his wife and three children, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Palestinian press freedom group MADA, and the London-based news website The New Arab.

October 11, 2023

Mohamed Fayez Abu Matar

Abu Matar, a freelance photojournalist, was killed during an Israeli airstrike in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.

October 10, 2023

Saeed al-Taweel

Al-Taweel, editor-in-chief of the Al-Khamsa News website, was killed when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper, The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.

Mohammed Sobh

Sobh, a photographer from Khabar news agency, was killed when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.

Hisham Alnwajha

Alnwajha, a journalist with Khabar news agency, was injured when Israeli warplanes struck an area housing several media outlets in Gaza City’s Rimal district, according to the U.K.-based newspaper The Independent, Al Jazeera, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa.

He died of his injuries later that day, according to the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and Palestinian news website AlWatan Voice.

October 8, 2023

Assaad Shamlakh

Shamlakh, a freelance journalist, was killed along with nine members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Sheikh Ijlin, a neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Beirut-based advocacy group The Legal Agenda and BBC Arabic.

October 7, 2023

Shai Regev

Regev, who served as an editor for TMI, the gossip and entertainment news section of the Hebrew-language daily newspaper Maariv, was killed during a Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. Regev’s death was confirmed after she was reported missing for six days, according to Maariv and The Times of Israel.

Ayelet Arnin

A 22-year-old news editor with the Israel Broadcasting Corporation Kan, Arnin was killed during a Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival in southern Israel, according to The Times of Israel and The Wrap entertainment website.

Yaniv Zohar

Zohar, an Israeli photographer working for the Hebrew-language daily newspaper Israel Hayom, was killed during a Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel, along with his wife and two daughters, according to Israel Hayom and Israel National News. Israel Hayom’s editor-in-chief Omer Lachmanovitch told CPJ that Zohar was working on that day.

Mohammad Al-Salhi

Al-Salhi, a photojournalist working for the Fourth Authority news agency, was shot dead near a Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, and the Journalist Support Committee (JSC), a nonprofit which promotes the rights of the media in the Middle East.

Mohammad Jarghoun

Jarghoun, a journalist with Smart Media, was shot while reporting on the conflict in an area to the east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the BBC and UNESCO.

Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi

Lafi, a photographer for Ain Media, was shot and killed at the Gaza Strip’s Erez Crossing into Israel, according to the Palestinian press freedom group MADA, the Beirut-based press freedom group Skeyes, and Al-Jazeera.

INJURED

October 13, 2023

Thaer Al-Sudani

Al-Sudani, a journalist for Reuters, was injured in the same attack that killed Abdallah near the border in southern Lebanon, Reuters said.

Maher Nazeh

Nazeh, a journalist for Reuters, was also injured in the same southern Lebanon attack.

Elie Brakhya

Brakhya, an Al-Jazeera TV staff member, was injured as well in the southern Lebanon shelling, Al-Jazeera TV said.

Carmen Joukhadar

Joukhadar, an Al-Jazeera TV reporter, was also wounded in the southern Lebanon attack.

Christina Assi

Assi, a photographer for the French news agency Agence France-Press (AFP), was injured in that same attack on southern Lebanon, according to AFP and France 24.

Dylan Collins

Dylan Collins, a video journalist for AFP, was also injured in the southern Lebanon shelling.

October 7, 2023

Ibrahim Qanan

Qanan, a correspondent for Al-Ghad channel, was injured by shrapnel in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to MADA and JSC.

Firas Lutfi

Police assaulted Lufti, a correspondent with privately owned Sky News Arabia,  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.

DETAINED/MISSING

October 18, 2023

Alaa Rimaway and Imad Abu Awad

Palestinian journalists Rimaway and Awad were arrested and have been detained by the Israel Defense Forces, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and New Arab.

October 16, 2023

Mustafa Al-Khawaja, Sabri Jabr, Abdel Nasser Al-Laham, and Muath Amarna

These four Palestinian journalists were arrested in the West Bank and detained by the IDF, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and New Arab.

October 7, 2023

Oded Lifschitz

Lifschitz, a lifelong Israeli journalist who wrote for Al-Hamishmar for many years and was also a Haaretz contributor, was reported missing from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. Oded’s wife was one of the two hostages released by Hamas on October 24, 2023, according to The Times of Israel and The Telegraph.

Nidal Al-Wahidi

A Palestinian photographer from the Al-Najah channel, Al-Wahidi was reported missing by MADA. Later, Al-Wahidi’s family informed the media that the journalist had been detained by the Israeli army.

Haitham Abdelwahid

A Palestinian photographer from the Ain Media agency, Abdelwahid was also reported missing by MADA.

Editor’s notes:

*CPJ’s research and documentation covers all journalists, defined as individuals involved in news-gathering activity. This definition covers those working for a broad range of publicly and privately funded news outlets, as well as freelancers. CPJ does not support journalists engaged in breaking the law. In the cases we have documented, multiple sources have found no evidence to date that any journalist was engaged in militant activity. 

CPJ’s database of journalists killed in connection with their work does not not yet reflect these casualties as we continue to investigate circumstances surrounding them.

This text has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Alma Al-Shaab in Issam Abdallah’s October 13, 2023 entry.