According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 72 of the 99 journalists killed worldwide in 2023 were Palestinians covering Israel’s war on Gaza. That made these 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade.

Killings of reporters worldwide would have declined year-on-year had it not been for deaths in the ongoing war against Gaza, CPJ said in its report Annual report published on Thursday.

“In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than ever in a single country in an entire year,” the organization said.

A total of 77 journalists were documented who were killed while doing their jobs in the Gaza war last year: 72 Palestinians, three Lebanese and two Israelis.

Palestinian victims account for nearly 75 percent of all journalists killed worldwide.

“This war is unprecedented in terms of the threat it poses to journalists,” CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg told Al Jazeera from New York.

“What is important in this war is that Gaza journalists are the only journalists who can report on what is happening in Gaza. International journalists were not allowed in and were not allowed to enter except on very, very controlled trips monitored by the Israeli army.

“So we are completely dependent on them [Palestinian] Journalists risking their lives to bring us this story,” she added.

On February 7, the New York-based Press Freedom Organization announced that the number of journalists killed in the war on Gaza had risen to 85.

CPJ has previously attacked what it called the “persecution” of journalists by Israeli forces and investigated whether a dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately attacked by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute a war crime.

“Journalists everywhere are threatened”

Ginsberg said she was “disappointed… at the lack of public solidarity we have seen with Palestinian journalists during the ongoing war.”

She said that the West’s “hesitancy” to show solidarity with the people attacked and killed in Gaza was “unfortunately not surprising” given that Israel “is the country, the issue that concerns international media and international politicians.” has divided more than anything else.”

But she stressed: “I think it’s really important that we show our colleagues in Gaza and in the region that we stand with them, that we are there to support them, so that we can ensure that press freedom and freedom of journalists are protected, not only at this crucial moment in Gaza, but also around the world at a time when journalists are under threat everywhere.”

According to the CPJ report, the death toll of 99 reporters killed worldwide was the highest since 2015 and an increase of nearly 44 percent over 2022 figures.

The largest declines in journalist deaths in 2023 will be in Ukraine and Mexico. In both cases, the number of murders rose from 13 to two.

In Somalia and the Philippines, the death toll remained stable, the organization said. However, it warned that Mexico – along with the Philippines and Somalia – was “one of the deadliest countries in the world for the press”.

“To make matters worse, government authorities have been spying on reporters and human rights defenders, and violence has forced significant numbers of journalists to leave their homes and abandon their profession,” the CPJ report warned.

In the Palestinian territories, journalists, even when not on assignment, face the risk of Israeli bombing or arrest. The government media office in Gaza said at least 126 Palestinian media workers have been killed since Israel’s war began on October 7.

Journalists working in conflict areas enjoy the protection of international humanitarian law. Palestinian journalists accuse Israel of repeatedly violating this law by targeting the media.

“It is very important that these murders are thoroughly investigated and those responsible are held accountable,” Ginsberg told Al Jazeera.

She said her organization was working to document attacks against journalists in Gaza that could later be used as evidence and presented to bodies such as the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court.