Image Credentials: Image Title: Journalist Killings Soar to 111 in 2025; Gaza and Conflict Zones Drive Record Fatalities Source: (sora.openai) Date: December 2025. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (sora.openai) and does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
BRUSSELS, Belgium – The year 2025 proved to be another exceptionally lethal year for journalists, with 111 media professionals, including seven women, killed globally, according to the annual report released by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on December 9. The grim toll underscores the intensifying dangers faced by those reporting from conflict and crisis zones around the world.
Since 1990, the IFJ has recorded 3,156 journalist deaths, making the 2025 figure significantly higher than the average of 91 deaths per year.
For the third consecutive year, the Middle East and Arab World was the region worst affected, accounting for a staggering 62% of all media professionals killed worldwide, with 69 deaths recorded.
The conflict in Gaza, Palestine, was the primary driver of this grim statistic, where the IFJ recorded 51 killings of Palestinian journalists. The report highlighted the targeted attack on August 10 against Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al-Sharif and five colleagues in a tent near Al Shifa Hospital as one emblematic tragedy.
Other hotspots in the region included Yemen, which saw 13 deaths, including an attack by the Israeli Army on the offices of the ‘26 September’ newspaper, described as one of the worst-ever attacks on media offices. Syria and Iran also recorded killings related to journalists’ work.
The IFJ report also documented the pervasive threat of imprisonment, releasing a list of 533 journalists currently jailed worldwide. The Republic of China (including Hong Kong) stands out as the world’s biggest jailer of media professionals, with 143 behind bars.
In addition to the Middle East (69 deaths), the geographical distribution of killings included:
- Asia-Pacific (15): India (4), Pakistan (3), and the Philippines (3) topped the regional list. China remains the world’s largest jailer of journalists, with 277 imprisoned in the region overall.
- Europe (10): The war between Russia and Ukraine accounted for nine deaths (eight in Ukraine, one in Russia). The report noted a deeply worrying trend: the deliberate use of drones to target journalists and their vehicles, resulting in the deaths of Ukrainian journalists Olena Hramova, Yevhen Karmazin, and Tetyana Kulyk, as well as French journalist Antoni Lallican.
- Africa (9): Sudan was the epicenter of African killings with six deaths, primarily due to the civil war, where journalists were targeted by warring factions, particularly the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
- Americas (8): Mexico and Peru each recorded three murders, with Peru’s situation described as particularly concerning given its nearly decade without fatal crimes against journalists.
IFJ President Dominique Pradalié condemned the findings, stating: “Journalists’ killings and imprisonment are rising in 2025, and it is deeply shameful to see how little governments around the world are doing to protect them… We are witnessing direct targeting, blatant attempts to silence critical voices, and efforts to control the narrative on matters of public interest.”
Pradalié issued a strong call to action, urging all United Nations Member States to move forward without delay to adopt an international instrument dedicated to the safety and protection of journalists, emphasizing that people everywhere “deserve full access to information, and journalists must be protected.”