Journalists targeted and killed: a shocking assault on press freedom in conflict zones

New York, April 8, 2026 – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns in the strongest terms the killing of at least three journalists in Lebanon and Gaza by Israel in one day, at least one of which was in a targeted attack. This pattern of attacks underscores a worsening climate of impunity and a blatant disregard for international law. Deliberate, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on journalists – civilians under international humanitarian law – are apparent war crimes and warrant investigation.

Israel carried out deadly strikes in both Gaza and Lebanon on Wednesday, 8 April 2026, killing journalists Mohammed Samir Washah, Ghada Dayekh, and Suzan Khalil in a sharp escalation of attacks on the press.

Washah, a correspondent for Qatari-based Al Jazeera Mubasher, was killed when his car was targeted by an Israeli drone attack in Gaza City. In Lebanon, separate Israeli strikes killed Dayekh, a presenter with Sawt Al-Farah, and Khalil, a reporter and presenter on Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio. These killings come amid intensified Israeli bombardment across Lebanon, hours after a ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the United States, including more than 100 strikes launched within minutes despite ceasefire announcements.

The deaths are part of a staggering and sustained toll. As the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented, the Gaza war is already the deadliest for journalists ever recorded, with today’s killing bringing that total to at least 260 journalists killed since its start in 2023. Since the outbreak of the Iran war on 28 February 2026, additional journalists have been killed in Lebanon and across the region, bringing the toll in Lebanon alone to at least seven in recent weeks.

“Journalists are being killed at a pace and scale that should shock the conscience of the world. These are not isolated tragedies; they reflect a systematic failure to uphold the most basic protections owed to civilian journalists under international law,” said Committee to Protect Journalists Regional Director Sara Qudah. “CPJ has consistently warned that without accountability, these attacks will continue to escalate, emboldening those who seek to silence independent reporting through violence.”

CPJ calls for urgent international action to ensure the protection of journalists and to halt ongoing attacks on the press. CPJ restates its call for international authorities to ensure that all cases of targeted killings of the press are independently and impartially investigated as war crimes, given Israel’s longstanding unwillingness to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by its military. The perpetrators – from the individuals in the Israel Defense Forces units to the highest level of the command chain – must be held to account.

The killing of journalists in Gaza and Lebanon today is incidental – it is part of a broader assault on press freedom. The international community must act now to stop it.

Sanef condemns unconscionable targeting of journalists and draconian media clampdowns in escalating Middle East conflict

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) expresses its deep outrage and strongest possible condemnation of the continued deliberate targeting and killing of journalists since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran in February.

This conflict, which has surged with devastating force into Lebanon and the broader Gulf region, is increasingly being characterised by a lethal disregard for the lives of media workers and a systematic assault on the truth.

The scale of the loss is staggering.

“This is quite unconscionable,” said Sanef Chairperson, Makhudu Sefara. “The deliberate nature of these attacks suggests that journalists are no longer being caught in the crossfire but are being actively hunted to ensure that the horrors of this war remain hidden from the world. International law is clear: journalists are civilians and must be protected. To target them is a war crime.”

Beyond the physical targeting of reporters in the field, Sanef is gravely concerned by the draconian measures implemented by both the Israeli and Iranian governments to stifle media freedom domestically.

In Israel, new emergency regulations and military censorship have effectively gagged the press within Israel, carrying the threat of incarceration and heavy legal punishment for those who report accurately on the realities of the war. These restrictions go beyond standard operational security; they prevent the media from documenting the true extent of how Israeli citizens are experiencing the daily trauma of the war, as well as authentic public sentiment regarding the conflict.

According to the CPJ, Iran’s judiciary has ordered the identification, asset seizure and bank account freezes of at least 100 individuals, including journalists and media workers affiliated with opposition outlets abroad, over their alleged “cooperation with hostile foreign entities”. By criminalising the reporting of the human cost of the war, the Israeli government is not only suppressing its own media but is denying the global community a clear understanding of the conflict’s consequences.

The past two weeks have seen a terrifying expansion of these tactics. Sanef also notes with alarm the targeted bombing of Iran’s government media structures and staff, as well as the repeated strikes on clearly marked press vehicles in Lebanon. These actions represent a calculated attempt to dismantle the very infrastructure of news reporting in the region.

Sanef calls on the international community, the United Nations, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urgently investigate these killings as targeted assassinations and to challenge the legislative “legalisation” of censorship. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in Iran, Lebanon and Israel who are being silenced by either missiles or the threat of a prison cell.

Impunity for these crimes must end. When the state treats the truth as an enemy of the people, the foundations of democracy and global human rights are under threat. DM/Sanef /Committee to Project Journalists