Journalists' rights group says 104 media workers killed this year. Gaza stands out for 2nd year

BRUSSELS (AP) — The International Federation of Journalists said Tuesday that 104 journalists and media workers have been killed so far in 2024, with more than half of them perishing during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The group said that since the Oct. 7, 2023 start of the war, at least 138 had been killed, including 55 Palestinian media professionals in the calendar year.

On top of the global fatalities, the IFJ said that the number of journalists in prison was also on the rise, with a sharp increase to 520, compared to 427 last year.

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“These sad figures show once again how fragile is press freedom and how risky and dangerous is the profession of journalism," said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger, adding the bad situation came at a critical time.

“The public’s need for information is very real at a time when authoritarian regimes are developing all over the world,” he said. When it came to imprisonments, the group said China and Hong Kong kept 135 journalists behind bars.

Overall, fatalities were still expected to rise before the year-end and were already closing in on the 2023 total of 129, the IFJ said.