The media More and more attacks on journalists in crisis regions

More and more journalists are losing their lives in conflict zones - 54 died in 2024. Gaza stands out as the most dangerous place for media professionals, according to the annual report 2024 by the organization Reporters Without Borders.

Around a third of all media professionals killed lost their lives in this war zone. Nowhere else were more journalists killed in the exercise of their profession last year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced on Thursday.

For example, 18 journalists died as a result of attacks by the Israeli army. According to the statistics, 13 others died in conflicts with armed groups in Pakistan, Mexico, Sudan, Colombia, Honduras and Chad.

52 of the media professionals killed by the reporting date of December 1, 2024 were men, according to the report. Over half of them died in conflict zones. This is the highest number since 2020.

More detainees

Over 550 media professionals were imprisoned around the globe, seven percent more than in the previous year. With 124 media professionals, China leads this category, followed by Myanmar (61), Israel (41), Belarus (40) and Russia (38). There are 55 journalists held hostage. 70 percent of the media professionals taken hostage are in Syria. Most of the journalists held hostage there were abducted by the Islamic State (IS), according to the report.

95 media professionals are missing worldwide. Mexico is a particularly risky area, accounting for around a third of these. South and Southeast Asia is the second most dangerous region in the world for media professionals, including Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Violence against media professionals often originates from governments or armed groups without them being held accountable. RSF therefore called for urgent measures to protect journalists and journalism itself. In total, over 1700 journalists have lost their lives in the last twenty years.