News Center- At least 124 journalists and media workers were killed in 2024, nearly two-thirds of them Palestinians killed by Israel, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPT) said in its annual report on Wednesday.

2024 is the deadliest year for journalists in CPT history; almost 70% killed by Israel, the report said, adding:

“The global total of 124 deaths exceeds the record high of 113 killed in 2007, when the Iraq war accounted for almost half of journalist casualties. Outside of Gaza (82) and Lebanon (3), CPJ documented the killing of 39 other journalists and media workers in 16 nations, with the deadliest being Sudan (6), Pakistan (6), Mexico (5), Syria (4), Myanmar (3), Iraq (3), and Haiti (2) during 2024.”

The deadliest nations for journalists share a common playbook to help them dodge responsibility and deny justice for killed journalists, The CFT said in the report. “Some stifle investigations of incidents, shift blame to the journalist victims themselves, and most simply ignore their duty to hold killers to account.”

According to the report, 102 journalists were killed in 2023 and 69 were killed in 2022.

“At least 24 journalists worldwide were deliberately killed because of their work in 2024. In Gaza and Lebanon, CPJ documented 10 cases where journalists were deliberately targeted.”

Drone strikes

According to the report, drones also have been increasingly used in targeted murders.

“Four of the 10 journalists murdered in Gaza in 2024 were killed by drone strikes, and CPJ recorded several others who were or may have been targeted by Turkish drones in Iraq and Syria. These incidents appear to have increased in number and severity since 2023, when CPJ documented one suspected drone killing in Gaza, and three drone attack injuries in Gaza, Russia, and Ukraine.”