Despite Gaza War, Total Number Of Journalists Killed In 2023 Is Dropping

Despite the two months of reporter deaths in Gaza, the number of journalists killed in the line of duty this year has decreased, according to a report released on Thursday by the media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. 45 journalists were killed in the first 11 months of 2023 while doing their jobs, compared to 61 in the previous year. It was the lowest since 33 people passed away in 2002, mostly as a result of a significant decline in Latin America. Since Israel and the Islamist group Hamas began fighting on October 7, there have been about sixty-three journalist killings in the Middle East, but only seventeen of those deaths meet RSF’s criteria. “It does not lessen the horror of what is happening in Gaza, but we are seeing a consistent downward trend and are a far way from the 140 journalists who were killed in 2012 and again in 2013.” as a result of the crises in Syria and Iraq, stated RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire. He noted that, in addition to increased “prudence” on the part of reporters, the drop is the result of efforts by NGOs and intergovernmental organizations to end impunity. 13 journalists were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, three journalists died in Lebanon, and one journalist was killed by Hamas in Israel, out of the 17 journalists that RSF has counted as having perished while doing their jobs in the Middle East since October 7.

Regarding these killings, RSF claimed in November that it had filed a complaint for “war crimes” at the International Criminal Court. The AFP reported last week that their investigation had revealed that on October 13, Reuters cameraman Issam Abdallah was killed by Israeli tank fire, while six other people, including AFP photojournalist Christina Assi, were injured. The journalists were in a “active combat zone” in southern Lebanon, according to an Israeli army official, but Deloire thought this explanation was “not satisfactory.” Two journalists, including AFP’s Arman Soldin, who RSF referred to as “the only reporter to have lost their life outside their own country,” died in 2023 as a result of the crisis in Ukraine.”