Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Rights Group Revises Gaza Journalist Death Toll After Review
The Committee to Protect Journalists keeps a list of reporters and media workers killed in wars.
It reviewed its list of people killed during the Gaza war.
The group said 19 people on the list had also been militants or had taken part in fighting.
It removed three more people because it could not confirm they were journalists, but added six cases back.
CPJ still says 191 Palestinian journalists and media workers were killed by Israeli forces during the war.
Israel says it does not target journalists and that some were members of armed groups.
International law generally protects journalists as civilians unless they take part in fighting.
The disagreement is part of a larger dispute over how journalists and other civilians have been killed during the war.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said 19 people previously classified as Gaza journalists or media workers were militants or participants in combat.
After its review, CPJ said Israeli forces had killed 191 Palestinian journalists and media workers since the Gaza war began.
CPJ removed three additional people whose journalistic roles could not be established and reinstated six others, including two Israeli journalists killed on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel denies targeting journalists and says some slain reporters were Hamas or other armed-group members posing as journalists.
CPJ said Israeli forces were responsible for by far the majority of journalist and media-worker killings worldwide since 2023, a claim Israel rejected as unprofessional.
- Who
- The Committee to Protect Journalists, Israeli forces, Palestinian journalists and media workers, and armed groups including Hamas.
- What
- CPJ revised its tally of journalists and media workers killed during the Gaza war, identifying 19 previously listed people as militants or combat participants.
- When
- The review was launched in June after October 2025 ceasefire-related obituaries raised questions; CPJ announced the revisions on Thursday.
- Where
- The deaths occurred mainly in Gaza; CPJ is based in New York.
- Why
- CPJ said new information, including obituaries identifying fighters, required it to reassess whether people met its definition of journalists.
Committee to Protect Journalists and Critics
Israeli Government and Military
Journalist death toll
Committee to Protect Journalists and Critics
CPJ says Israeli forces were responsible for by far the majority of journalist and media-worker killings worldwide since 2023 and considers Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza to have been killed in connection with their work.
Israeli Government and Military
Israel denies targeting journalists and says the revised figures demonstrate CPJ's hypocrisy and lack of professionalism in checking events on the ground.
Militant affiliations
Committee to Protect Journalists and Critics
CPJ says affiliation or political views alone do not determine journalist status, although it revised its criteria to exclude active members of military arms and removed 19 cases involving combat or militant activity.
Israeli Government and Military
Israel says some slain journalists were Hamas or other armed-group members posing as reporters and that militants have used journalistic protections to collect intelligence and assist attacks.
Responsibility for civilian deaths
Committee to Protect Journalists and Critics
Critics accuse Israel of deliberately targeting journalists, while major rights groups and experts have accused Israel of genocide, allegations Israel denies.
Israeli Government and Military
Israel says it targets only militants, takes extraordinary measures to avoid civilian harm, and blames Hamas for deaths because it operates in densely populated residential areas.
- Revised CPJ tally
- 191 Palestinian journalists and media workers killed by Israeli forces since the war began
- Reclassified cases
- 19 people previously listed as journalists were identified as militants or combat participants
- Other removals
- Three people were removed because their journalistic roles could not be established
- Reinstated cases
- Six people were reinstated, including two Israeli journalists killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack
- Total removals since Oct. 7
- CPJ has removed 27 people for combat participation or militant-group membership and nine others for different reasons
- CPJ criteria change
- The group now excludes people with active membership in a military arm of a state or non-state actor
- Broader war toll
- Gaza's Health Ministry says nearly 74,000 Palestinians have been killed; it does not distinguish civilians from militants