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Journalists killed in 2023
The Committee to Protect Journalists said that more than three quarters of the 99 journalists and media professionals killed worldwide in 2023 died in the Israel–Gaza war, with the majority of them Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
“Following the genocidal statements made by several of its members over the last nineteen months, the Israeli government publicly announced on May 5 a plan of ethnic cleansing consisting of militarily occupying Gaza, organizing the forced displacement of the population — initially confined to restricted zones of the territory, with a view to eventual expulsion — and destroying all infrastructure still standing”
CPJ said the conflict claimed more lives of journalists in three months than in an entire year in a single country before, and that the investigation into war-related deaths proved difficult because of the loss of people who could have provided more information.
CPJ reported that many families of the deceased journalists were killed with them in Gaza, while Israeli military authorities deny categorically having targeted journalists or provide only scant information when acknowledging journalist killings.
CPJ added that the global 2023 tally was the highest since 2015, with an increase of nearly 44% compared with 2022 figures, and that it included a record number of journalist assassinations—78—which CPJ research shows were work-related.
Press freedom under pressure
Reporters Without Borders said its data show a rapid deterioration of press freedom in Israel since the Gaza War, with rising political and legislative restrictions and increasing pressure on journalists, alongside the killing of more than 220 journalists in Gaza and Lebanon.
RSF reported that Israel has seen a tightening of the grip on media pluralism, media independence, and press freedom since the Gaza War broke out on October 7, 2023, in the wake of Hamas attacks.
RSF said the organization noted that the Israeli army killed in the besieged Palestinian territory more than 220 journalists, including at least 70 because of the nature of their work, while at the same time, pressures on journalists in Israel have increased.
RSF also said Israel’s ranking fell from 112 to 116 out of 180 in freedom of the press, and that only journalists accompanying the Israeli army are allowed to enter the Gaza Strip.
Bias claims and narrative
Media Bias Meter said it analyzed 54,449 articles published between October 7, 2023, and August 2025 across eight major Western news outlets, and concluded that coverage reveals a systemic distortion of the Gaza genocide narrative that favors Israeli framing while marginalizing Palestinian perspectives.
“Executive Summary: This study by Media Bias Meter analyzes 54,449 articles published between October 7, 2023, and August 2025—a 100-week period—across eight major Western news outlets from North America and Europe”
The study said the New York Times featured “Israel” in headlines 186 times for every one mention of “Palestine,” and it described headline disparities across the sample as overwhelmingly focused on Israeli perspectives.
Media Bias Meter also argued that terms essential to understanding the structural dynamics of the war such as “occupation,” “illegal settlements,” and “blockade” were either omitted or drastically underused, and that the dominant frame through which Palestinians were portrayed was that of “terrorism.”
The report said the widely circulated story of “beheaded babies” illustrates how emotionally potent narratives can override journalistic standards, and it claimed the media’s failure to independently investigate or verify and later correct or revisit the story underscores how sensational editorial choices can cement dehumanizing representations of one side of a war.
