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Three years of war in Gaza have killed 263 Palestinian journalists and media workers, while hundreds more have been wounded, detained or displaced, according to Palestinian authorities and journalism organisations cited by Anadolu Agency.
Many journalists have lost homes, workplaces and family members. They have continued reporting from displacement camps, hospitals and areas hit by bombardment, while Israel bars foreign journalists from entering the territory, the report said.
Media offices and equipment heavily damaged
Ismail al-Thawabta, head of Gaza’s Government Media Office, told Anadolu that 50 journalists had been detained in Israeli prisons, with 23 still in custody. Three others — Nidal Suheil al-Wahidi, Haitham Jamal Abdul Wahid and Ahmad Issam al-Agha — remain missing, he said.
Israeli attacks have damaged or destroyed 16 satellite television offices, 11 radio institutions, 12 newspaper and magazine offices, 23 digital media organisations, 27 printing houses and five media-related union and rights organisations, al-Thawabta said. He put losses to the sector at about $1 billion, including damage to buildings, equipment and broadcast vehicles.
On September 7, the International Federation of Journalists said the number of journalists killed in Gaza was the highest in modern journalism history. It said its figures are reviewed and updated as new information becomes available.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has said 27 women journalists were among those killed and nearly 500 journalists were wounded. It estimates Gaza had about 1,200 journalists before the war, meaning more than one in five have died.
The syndicate also estimates that 60% to 75% of surviving journalists — between 700 and 900 people — have lost their homes or been forcibly displaced. More than 80% of media offices and institutions have been completely or partly destroyed, it said.
Reporters have been working from tents, displacement sites and areas near hospitals, often facing shortages of electricity, internet access, protective equipment and cameras.
Journalists killed while reporting
Among those killed in 2023 was Bilal Jadallah, director general of Press House-Palestine, who died in November when an Israeli strike hit his vehicle in Gaza City. He also helped establish the Sawa news agency and supported journalist training and safety initiatives.
In early December, freelance cameraman Montaser al-Sawwaf, who had worked with Anadolu since 2014, was killed alongside his brother Marwan in Israeli airstrikes. Al-Sawwaf had continued reporting despite injuries sustained in an attack two weeks earlier that killed his parents and several siblings.
“Al Jazeera” cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa died after a drone strike at Farhana school in Khan Younis on December 15, 2023. Emergency rescue crews were prevented from reaching him for more than five hours. Although his family lived in Belgium, Abu Daqqa had stayed in Gaza to continue his work.
In January 2024, journalists Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya were killed when an Israeli strike hit their vehicle west of Khan Younis. Hamza was the son of “Al Jazeera” Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh. Photojournalist Hassan Hamad was killed in northern Gaza in October that year.
In 2025, freelance journalist Saed Abu Nabhan was killed by an Israeli sniper in the Nuseirat refugee camp on January 10. Other journalists killed that year included Palestine Today correspondent Suleiman Hajjaj, cameraman Ismail Badah, Shams News editor Samir al-Rifai and Youssef al-Nakhala of Al-Watania Media Agency.
An Israeli airstrike on a tent near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on August 10 killed six journalists, including “Al Jazeera” correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh. On August 25, five journalists — Mariam Abu Daqqa, Hossam al-Masri, Mohammed Salama, Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz — were killed in an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Figures from Gaza’s Government Media Office show that the journalist death toll rose from 254 to 263 after a ceasefire was announced on October 10, 2025. The office said Saleh al-Jaafarawi was the first journalist killed during the truce, on October 12, when he was reporting in the Sabra neighbourhood of southern Gaza City. It said he was shot by armed groups linked to Israel.
Journalists killed by the Israeli military in 2026 included “Al Jazeera” correspondent Mohammed Wishah in April and his brother Ahmad, a cameraman for the channel, on June 20. Amal al-Shamali, Anas Ghoneim, Abdul Raouf Shaat and Mohammed Qishta were also among those killed.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has called the conditions “journalism without walls”, describing how reporters have lost homes and offices but continue working from displacement sites.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and wounded over 175,000 in Gaza, according to the report. It says about 90% of the territory’s infrastructure has been destroyed. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that since the October 2025 ceasefire, Israeli attacks have killed 1,454 Palestinians and wounded 5,090.
