New Delhi: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a special report indicating that more journalists and media workers died in 2025 than in any year since it began collecting data more than three decades ago. Over three-quarters of the deaths occurred in conflict settings, with 104 journalists killed in such environments.Of the 129 deaths, 86 were caused by Israeli fire. The report notes that more than 60% of these 86 press members were Palestinians reporting from Gaza. The CPJ documents 47 cases of targeted killings, which it classifies as murders, stating that Israel was responsible for 81% of these cases.“Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” said Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive Officer of the CPJ. “Attacks on the media are a leading indicator of attacks on other freedoms, and much more needs to be done to prevent these killings and punish the perpetrators. We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting the news”.The CPJ highlights a pattern of targeted killings against Al Jazeera personnel. Following what the report describes as repeated, unsubstantiated smears, reporter Anas al-Sharif was killed on August 10, 2025, alongside three other Al Jazeera staff members and two freelancers in a strike on a tent.Furthermore, in what the CPJ classifies as the second-deadliest attack it has ever documented worldwide, Israeli forces carried out multiple airstrikes on two newspaper offices in Yemen, killing 31 journalists and media workers. Israel alleged it struck “military targets,” including the “Houthi Public Relations Department”. The report also notes that during a 12-day war with Iran in June, Israel killed two journalists and a media worker, stating the targets were military sites.The dangers extend beyond the reporters themselves. Quoting a 2025 report by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the CPJ states that the Israeli military has killed more than 700 family members of journalists since the conflict began in October 2023, describing it as a tool of collective punishment.The CPJ alleges that Israel has repeatedly killed journalists after levelling unsubstantiated allegations that they were militants. Among those killed was Hossam Shabat, a 23-year-old Palestinian correspondent, who died in an Israeli drone strike near the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza. Israel alleged Mr. Shabat was a Hamas sniper without providing evidence.Another incident occurred at Nasser hospital in Gaza, where five journalists were among at least 20 people killed. Israel alleged it was targeting a Hamas camera.The use of drones to target press members increased significantly in the past year. Drone killings surged from two in 2023 to 39 in 2025. The Israeli military was responsible for 28 of the 39 drone-related deaths in Gaza, while Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces accounted for five, Russia for four, Houthi forces for one, and a suspected Turkish strike for one.The victims of these drone strikes include international press. French photojournalist Antoni Lallican, alongside Ukrainian journalists Olena Hramova and Yevhen Karmazin, were killed by targeted strikes from Russian drones in the Donetsk region. In Sudan, where nine journalists died in 2025, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have increasingly used drones. The RSF was also responsible for the execution of Sudan News agency director Taj al-Sir Ahmed Suleiman and his brother in November.The report alleges that military officials have killed 373 journalists in the past 15 years, with more than 60% of these deaths occurring in the last three years. The CPJ states that Israeli forces were responsible for all but 21 of the deaths during this three-year period.Journalists also faced deadly risks outside conflict zones in countries where the CPJ states criminal factions operate with impunity. In India, the body of freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar was discovered in a septic tank after his investigation into alleged corruption in a Rs 120 crore road project was broadcast.In Mexico, six journalists were killed, and the perpetrators remain unidentified despite federal protection mechanisms. In the Philippines, three journalists were shot dead, resulting in only one arrest.The report also highlights the extreme measures taken by authoritarian regimes. In a rare state execution, Saudi Arabia executed prominent columnist Turki al-Jasser after holding him in detention for seven years. He had been convicted on charges of treason and terrorism, which the CPJ describes as spurious allegations used to punish reporters.The CPJ has called for the establishment of an international investigative task force and the imposition of targeted sanctions to bring perpetrators to justice. The organisation states that 80 per cent of journalist killings worldwide remain unsolved.