- Images Credits: International Media Support, Al-Jazeera and Radio Canada
Al Jazeera veteran reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was shot by Israeli Defence Forces on May 11, 2022 while reporting on an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Ahmed Mansour, a reporter for Palestine Today, was burned alive on April 7 this year during an Israeli attack on a journalists’ tent in Khan Younis. Both were journalists, and both were silenced in a region where the truth is too often buried with the reporter.
As the third anniversary of Abu Akleh’s killing approaches, and with Mansour’s death still fresh in public memory, there are ethical and humanitarian questions about who should be held accountable for their murders.
According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published in February 2025, at least 124 journalists and media workers were killed globally, making 2024 the deadliest year for the press in CPJ’s history.
The report indicates that Palestinian journalists and media workers targeted by Israel in Gaza accounted for nearly two-thirds of all journalist deaths that year, 82 killed.
Othman Nazzal, a representative of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), confirmed to The Caravan the latest number of Palestinian journalists killed since October 7, 2023: “Israel murdered over 209 [as of April 21, 2025] Palestinian journalists, some of whom were targeted alongside their families at their homes.”
According to Nazzal, the West Bank has over 950 Israeli checkpoints today, where Israeli soldiers check journalists’ mobile phones.
“If they [Israeli soldiers] find a video or a photo documenting their crimes against Palestinian citizens, the journalist would be punished either by detention or scolding,” Nazzal said. “In other words, journalists are accused of incitement against Israeli occupiers for covering any story of the Palestinians’ suffering.”
These conditions shape the daily reality of many journalists on the ground.
Veteran Palestinian reporter, Shuruq As’ad, says that moving between cities in the Occupied West Bank is extremely difficult for journalists.
“Each city is now a jail.”
For Palestinian reporters like her in the West Bank, reaching coverage areas such as Jerusalem or Gaza is nearly impossible.
Working as a journalist in Palestine can easily cost a journalist their life. As’ad shared that many of her colleagues in Gaza have been displaced multiple times, starved without access to clean water, and most of them have lost their homes partially or entirely. All have lost loved ones, some were burned, and others lost limbs.
The toll isn’t limited to the journalists themselves; the spaces where they work are also being targeted and destroyed by Israeli forces.
“Israel bombed and destroyed 73 media offices, and the remaining ones are partially destroyed,” As’ad revealed.
The killings and attacks on journalists in Gaza leave their colleagues in other cities with psychological trauma.
“I have a very heavy heart losing them and seeing them attacked, displaced, hungry, and unable to do their work as international law and human rights allow,” As’ad said.
As’ad does not feel protected in any way. She holds the international community accountable, adding that global institutions and organizations are just watching and documenting Palestinian deaths.
“There has to be more action, particularly by member states. We have repeatedly called on them for more support,” Ajith Sunghay, head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the occupied Palestinian territories, told The Caravan.
“Third States must act according to their clear and unambiguous obligations under international law to ensure that the killing of Palestinian journalists stops immediately and bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.”
From the syndicate’s standpoint, Nazzal confirmed that no protection mechanisms exist for journalists reporting in conflict zones, as Israel does not respect the PJS press passes or even the International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) press passes.
“It is possible to go further and say that Israel is banning the profession of media and journalism in Palestine. Israel sees the Palestinian journalist’s camera as its lethal enemy,” Nazzal said.
While institutional protection is lacking, the syndicate attempts to provide some practical assistance by offering Gaza journalists protective vests, helmets, and other necessary safety gear. It also provides them with tents and other life necessities when possible.
Additionally, in cooperation with the IFJ, the syndicate established the Palestinian Journalists Fund to support journalists and the families of those killed or injured.
Khaled Ezzelarab, associate professor of practice in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication and a Middle East-based journalist who has covered major events in the region for international and pan-Arab news organizations, emphasized the importance for media organizations to prioritize the safety of journalists, whether they are staff members or freelance reporters.
Ezzelarab highlighted risk assessment as a key protective measure that all media organizations should implement before sending reporters into dangerous zones.
“Risk assessment involves many steps, such as identifying potential threats, for example, crossfire from multiple sides, kidnapping, or being trapped in a hostile area,” said Ezzelarab. “The next step is outlining how to mitigate these risks: wearing protective gear like helmets and vests, avoiding high-risk areas, preparing evacuation routes, listing nearby hospitals, or having a security consultant accompany the journalist.”
In the meantime, Palestinian journalists and organizations continue to call for stronger protection. International human rights bodies are actively involved, though they have limited resources and face many challenges.
“There’s no specific mechanism for protection of journalists per se; however, the overall protection response is aimed at covering the needs of different vulnerable groups,” Sunghay said.
Sunghay explained that since 2009, OHCHR has coordinated the Protection Cluster, a network of over 100 organizations working to protect communities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As part of its work, the Protection Cluster established a community-based Protection Monitoring System to identify key risks across Gaza and support protection efforts.
In addition to its protection activities, OHCHR engages in advocacy efforts, issuing calls for the protection of journalists, freedom of access, and freedom from intimidation and threats, both in Gaza and the West Bank.
Beyond the need for immediate protection, accountability for attacks and killings of journalists remains elusive.
The PJS has filed suits with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in coordination with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and other organizations, seeking justice in high-profile cases like Abu Akleh’s.
“PJS did its best to bring Israeli perpetrators to justice by contacting the relevant organizations and authorities, but the judicial process is very slow due to the Israeli occupation,” Nazzal explained.
OHCHR similarly highlighted the systemic lack of accountability.
“Impunity for human rights and humanitarian law violations has been a major concern for the office for several years now,” Sunghay said.
“However, there has been no major progress on such cases [the killings of Abu Akleh and Mansour] due to a lack of action by Israel. As long as there is impunity, violations will continue.”
When asked what can be done both locally and globally to protect Palestinian journalists and hold those who target them accountable, Nazzal suggested that all international media organizations should work alongside the IFJ to help the PJS continue pursuing accountability.
“Arab and Islamic journalists’ associations and unions need to maintain their efforts to pressure for justice for Palestinian journalists through coordination and cooperation with PJS,” he added.
The lack of protection, rising death toll, and slow pace of accountability have sparked serious ethical concerns.
Jane Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, emphasized the moral responsibility to not let these deaths go unnoticed.
“The deaths of any journalist covering war or conflict are tragic,” Kirtley told The Caravan.
“It is an ethical obligation for advocacy organizations to monitor and document these deaths to remind the public of the essential role that the journalists play in holding governments accountable, and of the sacrifices the journalists make in performing that role.”
Despite the constant threat faced by Palestinian journalists, many continue to find the strength to persevere in their work.
“We report on our lives, this is the only way we can stop the genocide and occupation and reach accountability, be free, and live in dignity and safety,” As’ad said.
