Palestine: Journalists continue to be killed despite ceasefire agreement
At least 234 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023, the latest figures by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) show.
This comes after three freelance journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza yesterday (21 January).
The NUJ has joined the IFJ and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) in condemning the killings - which continue despite the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October 2025 - and reiterating calls for an immediate investigation into the deaths.
Mohammed Salah Qashta, Anas Ghneim and Abdul Raouf Shaat (a contributor to Agence France Presse), were killed in an airstrike in the Al-Zahra area of central Gaza. According to the PJS, the photojournalists were travelling in a vehicle "while carrying out a humanitarian, journalistic mission to film and document the suffering of civilians.”
Several more journalists have been killed since the ceasefire was agreed. This includes Mahmoud Wadi, a photojournalist working for Alam 24, killed in an Israeli drone strike in December in Khan Yunis. On 29 October 2025, Mohammad Al-Munirawi, a reporter for Palestine newspaper, was also killed in an airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip. Ten days earlier, Ahmed Abu Mutair, engineer at Palestine Media Production (PMP), working for the German public broadcaster ZDF, was killed when PMP's premises were hit by an Israeli rocket strike in Deir AlBalah.
More than 470 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, Gaza's health ministry figures show.
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said: “We send our deepest condolences to the families, colleagues, and friends of the journalists killed. The world hoped that the ceasefire agreed late last year would bring an end to the suffering and devastation, but that has not been the case. Israeli forces have continued to target journalists and media workers, in stark contravention of press freedom and international law.
“Once again, we urge concerted global pressure to end the impunity enjoyed by those who routinely target and kill journalists. The NUJ continues to raise this issue with its parliamentary group, which is writing to the UK government to ask what action has been taken to hold the Israeli government accountable for the persistent targeting of journalists and other civilians in Gaza.”