A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday, blaming Israel for two-thirds of the deaths.
It was the second consecutive annual record for journalist deaths and the deadliest year since CPJ began collecting data more than three decades ago.
“Journalists are being murdered in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement.
“We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting the news.” More than three-quarters of all deaths in 2025 occurred in conflict settings, CPJ said in its report.
More than 60 percent of the 86 members of the press killed by Israeli fire in 2025 were Palestinians reporting from Gaza, he added.
The Israeli military claims it never “deliberately attacks” journalists.
The number of journalists killed in Ukraine and Sudan also increased in 2025 compared to the previous year.
CPJ highlighted an increase in drone use, with 39 documented cases, including 28 assassinations committed by Israel in Gaza and five committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
In Ukraine, four journalists were killed by Russian military drones, the highest annual number of journalist deaths in war since there were 15 in 2022.
Journalists are increasingly vulnerable due to a persistent culture of impunity, CPJ said, highlighting the lack of transparent investigations into the killings.
In Mexico, six journalists were murdered in 2025 and all cases remain unsolved. In the Philippines, three journalists were shot dead.
Others were killed after reporting on corruption, such as a Bangladeshi journalist hacked to death by suspects linked to a fraud ring, according to the CPJ report.
Similar deaths related to organized crime were recorded in India and Peru.
In Saudi Arabia, prominent columnist Turki al-Jasser was executed by the state after being found guilty of several charges that CPJ compared to “spurious accusations of financial and national security crimes” used to punish journalists.
It was the first documented murder of a journalist in the Gulf state since the death of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1975665/israel-committed-two-thirds-of-record-press-killings-in-2025-cpj