CPJ trims Gaza journalist death toll after review finds 19 were militants

The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday that 19 Palestinians it had previously counted as journalists or media workers killed by Israeli fire were in fact militants or participants in combat, following an internal review of its casualty tally.

With those revisions, the New York-based group now says Israeli forces have killed 191 Palestinian journalists and media workers since the war in Gaza began. It said its data still shows Israeli forces were responsible for "by far the majority" of journalist and media worker killings worldwide since 2023.

CPJ said it updates its findings as new information emerges. Besides the 19, it removed three more people because their work as journalists could not be confirmed, and reinstated six cases, among them two Israeli journalists killed in the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, which triggered the war.

"The accuracy and credibility of CPJ's research are fundamental to our mission," chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement. She said determinations rest only on whether an individual meets the group's definition of a journalist, and not on affiliation, views or pressure from any government or interest group.

The review was prompted by obituaries published for Hamas and other militants after the October 2025 ceasefire, which identified fighters the group had earlier classified as journalists. CPJ began an internal review in June and appointed an auditor the following month.

Since the October 7 attack, CPJ has removed 27 people from its list after finding they took part in combat or belonged to a militant group, and nine others for different reasons. The updated list also includes a Palestinian journalist killed by a Palestinian militia and four Israelis killed by Hamas.

CPJ said it had initially not treated membership in a military media unit alone as proof of combat involvement, but has since changed its criteria to exclude anyone with active membership of any military arm of a state or non-state actor. Five of the 19 were removed under those new rules.

Among those killed during the war was Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who worked for The Varta Wire and other outlets. She died along with 21 other people, including rescue workers and other journalists, in a double Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital in August 2025. Varta Wire executive editor Julie Pace sits on the CPJ board.

Israel denies targeting journalists and says some slain media workers were members of Hamas or other armed groups posing as reporters, in some cases providing evidence that employers rejected. The prime minister's office and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Critics accuse Israel of deliberately targeting journalists to silence coverage of the war. Israel has barred foreign reporters from entering Gaza except on brief military-run visits since the conflict began. CPJ says it treats all Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza as having died in connection with their work, since they can report from anywhere in the territory and are not permitted to leave.

Under international law, journalists are considered civilians regardless of their political views or affiliations unless they take part in hostilities. Israel says militants posing as journalists have used such protections to gather intelligence and help target its forces.

Hamas and other armed groups run media outlets alongside political parties, charities and other civilian institutions, separate from their secretive armed wings. They also operate military media units embedded with fighters that film attacks and release propaganda and hostage videos.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251. The last remaining hostages were released, or their remains returned, under the ceasefire reached nearly a year ago.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 74,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says about half were women and children. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, keeps detailed records that U.N. agencies and independent experts generally regard as reliable.

Israel says it targets only militants and takes extraordinary measures to avoid civilian harm, blaming deaths on Hamas for operating in dense residential areas. Major rights groups and experts have accused Israel of genocide, allegations it strongly denies.