Reporters Without Borders (RSF) blamed Israeli forces in Gaza for 29 of the 67 journalists killed worldwide in 2025.

The number of "murdered journalists" has risen from 66 journalists killed in 2024, most of them victims of war or criminal networks, the media freedom group said in its annual report. 

"This is where the hatred of journalists leads! It led to the death of 67 journalists this year — not by accident, and they weren't collateral victims. They were killed, targeted for their work," RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin said in a statement.

"Key witnesses to history, journalists have gradually become collateral victims, inconvenient eyewitnesses, bargaining chips, pawns in diplomatic games, men and women to be 'eliminated'," he added. 

Journalists slain in Gaza

The most dangerous region remained the Gaza Strip, where 29 reporters lost their lives, with the second most dangerous being Mexico, with nine deaths.

The deadliest attack was a so-called "double-tap" strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on August 25, which killed five journalists, including two contributors to international news agencies Reuters and Associated Press, the report said.

Since the Gaza war began in 2023 following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, the Israeli military has killed nearly 220 journalists, according to RSF data. At least 65 of them were slain due to their work or while they were working, the report stated.

Israel has repeatedly denied that its forces target journalists. 

503 journalists detained around the world

Other conflict regions like Ukraine and Sudan also saw the killings of three and four news professionals, respectively.

At least 53 of the total 67 media professionals killed were victims of war or criminal networks, the report said.

In Mexico, 2025 was the deadliest of the last three years for journalists. Nine professionals were killed there, making it the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists.

The report highlighted that media professionals were most at risk in their own countries. Two foreign correspondents died on foreign soil in the past 12 months.

Apart from those killed, another 503 journalists are currently detained around the world for their work. This statistic was led by China, which had 121 imprisoned news professionals, and Russia in second place with 48 journalists.

Syria emerged as the country with the highest number of missing journalists as it marked the one-year anniversary of the fall of Bashar Assad's regime

Edited by: Louis Oelofse