Israel’s War On Gaza: In Memory Of Palestinian Journalists Killed In 2023

The death toll for Palestinian journalists in Gaza killed in the Israeli military’s assault and siege on Gaza has been staggering. They have largely been killed by weapons provided by the United States government, and at least a dozen more were confirmed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to have been assassinated by the Israeli military.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has counted a lower number of journalist deaths while the government media office in Gaza reported on December 23 that 100 journalists had been killed after the home of Palestinian journalist Muhammed Abu Hweidy was bombed.

As of December 30, anywhere from 70 to 106 journalists are confirmed dead.

Tim Dawson, the deputy general secretary at the International Federation of Journalists, told Al Jazeera English, “I don’t think we have seen a death toll of journalists to this concentration in any conflict that I can think of. There were about 1,000 journalists in Gaza at the beginning of this conflict. And while there are slightly different counts of precisely how many have died, if between seven-and-a-half and 10 percent have died, that is an extraordinarily high number."

Journalists in Gaza “only have cameras, microphones, and notebooks and continue doing their work despite this absolutely mind-blowing death toll,” Dawson added.

Global press freedom and human rights groups previously documented instances where Palestinian journalists were targeted and killed by the Israeli military. Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, killed in 2022, was a glaring example.

But it is clear that Israeli forces are flaunting the impunity that the government enjoys by attacking journalists and their families. They know that the U.S. government and various European governments will stand by them, even after the crimes that they commit become known to the world. 

To express solidarity with Palestinian journalists that have been killed and who remain under attack, I launched a video series in December.

Holiday plans disrupted my ability to complete the series before the end of the year. However, I put together a simpler slide show of journalists with their photos and the date that they were confirmed dead.

I plan to finish what I started in 2024. For now, here is a video with Al Jazeera bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh at the end calling out the Israeli government following the death of his colleague Samer Abu Daqqa.

Dahdouh has survived threats to his life reportedly from the Israeli government, and the Israeli military targeted and killed members of his family, including his wife, son, and daughter. The attack occurred while Dahdouh was out in the field covering the war.