Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has described the Israeli army as “the worst enemy of journalists” in its annual report published on Thursday, with nearly half of all reporter killings worldwide recorded in Gaza.
The French-based organisation said that of the 67 media professionals killed over the past year, 43 percent were killed by Israel, making the Palestinian territories the most dangerous place in the world for journalists.
According to RSF, the Israeli army is the primary perpetrator of journalist deaths, ahead of cartels and organised crime groups (24 percent) and the Russian army (four percent).
The Israel/Gaza area has actually taken the top spot for journalist killings the last 3 years. Didn’t see data on who was deemed responsible the two years prior, but they died there. Other interesting notes are that Mexico took the #2 spot with 24% and it seems to be rising. Also, all but 2 journalists this year reportedly died within their own country.
If you head over to journalist imprisonment stats, China takes the top spot as usual and we’re not close to a competition for that #1 spot. They are followed up eventually by Russia in the #2 spot, they overtook Myanmar this year with Myanmar moving down to #3.
Highly recommend going to RSF and reading the full report.