CPJ says 19 Palestinians listed as journalists in Gaza were militants

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has revised its casualty list for the Gaza war, determining that 19 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and initially described as journalists were in fact militants or active combat participants. Even after this reclassification, CPJ's figures still show that Israeli forces were responsible for the majority of killings of journalists and media workers worldwide since 2023. Following the review, CPJ's list now counts 191 killed Palestinian journalists and media personnel. The revision was reported by the Norwegian outlet Aftenposten, which cited CPJ's updated assessment. The change reflects CPJ's effort to verify the status of individuals on its casualty roster amid the difficulty of confirming identities and affiliations in an active war zone. The organization maintains that, despite the corrections, the overall pattern of high journalist fatalities in Gaza remains unchanged.

Global Impact

The correction has political and industry consequences. Politically, it hands Israeli officials a concrete example to argue that journalist-casualty figures have been inflated, potentially weakening international pressure over press freedoms in Gaza.