Know their names
Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in Gaza
As the conflict in Gaza enters its 15th month, more than 45,400 people have been killed and 108,000 injured. The war has been particularly marked by the challenges of reporting from a warzone in effect sealed off to reporters from outside Gaza, where reporting has been impossible at times — and far too often, deadly.
Despite these challenges, Palestinian journalists have continued to report the horrors of the war, serving as the world’s eyes and ears during one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century.
From October 7, 2023, to December 25, 2024, at least 217 journalists and media workers had been killed in Gaza. Five more were killed on December 26 when an Israeli air strike targeted a news van near al-Awda Hospital. These most recent killings of journalists underscore the perilous environment in which media professionals are operating in Gaza. Simply put, this has been the worst conflict for journalists — ever.
The following list is a tribute to the journalists and media workers who have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, arranged by the dates of their deaths.
Hisham’s last message to the world
Hisham Al-Nawajah, a 27-year-old reporter for the Khabar News Agency, was killed on October 9, 2023, when Israeli warplanes targeted an area in the Remal district of western Gaza, home to several media outlets. He was killed while covering the forced evacuation of the “Haji” building, located on Institutions Street in Gaza governorate, which was destroyed in the air strike.
Hisham, known for his courage and dedication to reporting amid the escalating violence, had been documenting the intensifying conflict when the building was hit.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the war in Gaza has killed more journalists in a year than any other conflict the organisation has recorded.
Ayat’s last message to the world
Ayat Khadoura, a freelance journalist and podcast presenter, was killed along with several family members in an Israeli air strike that targeted her home in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. Khadoura had been sharing videos on social media to document the dire situation in Gaza.
One of her most poignant posts was a video shared on November 6, 2023, which she called My Last Message to the World. In the video, she said, “We had big dreams, but our dream now is to be killed in one piece so they know who we are.”
The CPJ said the killings of journalists and the systematic arrests and detentions of media workers in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023, have created a news void that could cause potential war crimes to go undocumented.
Jabr’s last message to the world
Jabr Abu Hadrous, a reporter for the Quds al-Youm broadcaster, was killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in northern Gaza in December 2023. He died with seven members of his family.
Jabr, 36, was described by colleagues as a brave and driven journalist, whose personal connection to the community he served made his reporting all the more poignant.
Ismail’s last message to the world
Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in an Israeli air attack on July 31, 2024. The reporters were killed when their car was hit in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, according to initial information.
Ismail and Rami were wearing media vests, and there were identifying signs on their car when they were attacked.
Al Jazeera’s Anas Al-Sharif was at the hospital where the bodies of his two colleagues were brought.
“Ismail was conveying the suffering of the displaced Palestinians and the suffering of the wounded and the massacres committed by the [Israeli] occupation against the innocent people in Gaza,” he said.
“The feeling – no words can describe what happened.”
Al-Ghoul is among several Al Jazeera journalists who have lost their lives covering the war. Several more have lost family members to Israeli strikes. The tragedy of Wael Dahdouh, Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza City, particularly highlights the devastation many Palestinian journalists have faced doing their duty while having to report killings far too close to home.
Just weeks after the start of the war, Dahdouh was informed while live on air that an Israeli air attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp had killed his wife, seven-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son along with other family members.
Another son, Hamza, who was also an Al Jazeera reporter, was killed in a drone attack in January 2024.
In all, at least 192 male and 25 female journalists had been killed by December 25.
Half of the female journalists were from Gaza City while 64 percent of all media workers killed were from Gaza City and North Gaza.
About 36 percent of the journalists killed so far have been from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.
More than half (52 percent) of the journalists and media workers killed lost their lives during the first three months of the conflict from October to December 2023. October 2023 was the deadliest month with 44 journalists and media workers killed, accounting for 20 percent of the total deaths.
But the killings have continued ever since — including the latest on December 26, in which five journalists were killed all at once, highlighting the ongoing dangers faced by media professionals documenting the crisis.
Eighty percent of the journalists and media workers killed were between the ages of 20 and 40, a stark statistic that captures the young age of those who risk their lives to document the conflict. Many of them were in the prime of their careers.
They were reporters and writers, photographers and video directors, analysts and editors, sound engineers and voiceover artists, and even founders of media outlets.
Their stories remind us of the heavy price paid by those who strive to document humanity’s darkest moments. Here are some more of their last messages to the world.