Journalist casualties in the Israel-Hamas conflict stands at 22: CPJ

Guwahati, Oct 21: According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), since violence erupted between Israel and Hamas on October 7th, at least 22 journalists have been killed.

The CPJ reported that, as of October 20, 18 Palestinian, three Israeli, and one Lebanese journalist had died since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, followed by the ongoing bombardments of Gaza by Israel.

The 22 journalists were among the more than 4,000 dead on both sides since the war began on October 7, with hundreds killed in Tuesday’s hospital blast in Gaza.

The CPJ attributed two of these fatalities to Hamas attacks in southern Israel and 15 of these deaths to Israeli airstrikes. According to reports, eight journalists have been hurt, and three more are either missing or in custody.

“CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heartbreaking conflict. All parties must take steps to ensure their safety.”

The CPJ said that it was probing "numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes".