Record number of journalists and media workers killed in 2025, mostly by Israel, CPJ says

A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed in the course of their work last year, two-thirds of them killed by Israel, Reuters writes, referring to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

It was the second straight year that press killings set a record and the second straight year that Israel was responsible for two-thirds of them, the CPJ, a New York-based independent organization which documents attacks on the press, said in its annual report․

Israeli fire killed 86 journalists in 2025, mostly Palestinians in Gaza but also including 31 workers in an attack on a Houthi media centre in Yemen.

Its report said at least 104 of the 129 journalists killed died in connection with conflicts. Apart from Gaza and Yemen, the deadliest countries for journalists include Sudan, where nine were killed, and Mexico, where six died. Four Ukrainian journalists were killed by Russian forces and three journalists died in the Philippines, it said.

Russia’s embassy in Washington did not respond specifically to the CPJ report, but referred to past Russian Foreign Ministry statements accusing Kyiv of responsibility for the deaths of more than 60 individuals working in Russian media since 2014.