Throughout last year, 129 press professionals died in the exercise of their profession, according to a report by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), released this Wednesday (25).
This is the highest number of deaths ever documented by the committee since the organization began keeping these records more than three decades ago.
Data from the organization, which is based in New York (USA), also reveals that two thirds of these deaths (86) are attributed to the Israel Defense Forces.
Of the 129 journalists murdered in 2025, the majority (104) occurred during conflicts. Five countries account for 84% of deaths: Israel (86 motorcycle press professionals), Sudan (9 deaths), Mexico (6), Russia (4), and the Philippines (3).
Although the number of press professionals murdered in Ukraine and Sudan has increased, the overwhelming majority of cases concern Palestinian victims.
In the report, the Committee recalls that “armed conflicts have reached historic levels around the world”, as well as the murders of journalists that have reached “an unprecedented record”.
For CPJ, impunity is one of the main reasons for the increase in journalist murders.
“The rising number of journalist deaths around the world is fueled by a persistent culture of impunity for attacks on the press: very few transparent investigations have been conducted.”
“The continued failure of government leaders to protect the press or hold their attackers accountable also lays the groundwork for more murders, including in countries that are not at war,” says the organization, citing deaths in India, Mexico and the Philippines.
For the organization’s president Jodie Ginsberg, these murders come at a time when access to information is “more important than ever.”
“Attacks on the press are a leading indicator of attacks on other freedoms. Much more needs to be done to prevent these murders and punish the perpetrators. We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting news.”
In the report, the Committee recalls that “the murders of journalists violate international humanitarian law”, which stipulates that press professionals are civilians and should never be deliberately targeted.
Targets
Palestinian Hossam Shabat, from Al Jazeera, and Mohammad Mansour from Palestine Today TV, were murdered by Israeli forces – Palestinian Journalists Union/Disclosure
Among the cases cited by CPJ are Hossam Shabat, a 23-year-old Palestinian correspondent for Al Jazeera in Qatar, who died in March 2025 in an Israeli attack to his car near the Beit Lahia hospital in northern Gaza.
Shabat was one of the best-known journalists who stayed in Gaza to report on Israel’s war on the besieged territory. Israel accused Shabat of being a Hamas gunman without providing any evidence of the accusations.
Another case cited by the NGO is that of Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, who publicly warned that his life was in danger after repeated and unfounded defamation by Israel.
After years of threats, Al-Sharif was assassinated in August 2025, alongside three other Al Jazeera journalists and two freelancers, following a attack on a tent that shelters journalists near Al-Shifa Hospital.
Gangs and authoritarian states
In addition to armed conflicts around the world, the organization also cites a weak rule of law, criminal factions with freedom to commit crimes, and corrupt political leaders as factors that have led to the deaths of press professionals in the following countries: Bangladesh, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
“In some of these countries, these murders have become common. At least one journalist has been killed in Mexico and India every year for the past 10 years, and at least one journalist has been killed in Bangladesh and Colombia – as well as by Israel – every year for the past five years.”
Drones
CPJ also draws attention to the increase in the number of attacks on press professionals using drones. According to the organization, the number rose from two deaths in 2023 to 39 deaths in 2025.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drones have been used by both countries for attacks and surveillance.
“In 2025, Russia intensified its drone war, using them to repeatedly attack civilians in Ukraine, including journalists. The four journalists killed in Ukraine in 2025 were hit by Russian drones,” CPJ reported, signaling that last year was the first in which CPJ drone assassinations of journalists, during the Russia-Ukraine war.
*With information from RTP
