The semi-annual freedoms report issued by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate on Sunday revealed that occupation forces killed 33 journalists from the beginning of this year until the end of June 2025, and recorded 739 violations against journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the same period.
During a press conference held at the union's headquarters in Ramallah, the head of the union's Freedoms Committee, Mohammed al-Lahham, emphasized that the report sheds light on the reality of journalism in light of the massacres committed against our people in the West Bank and Gaza, and the escalating crimes perpetrated by the occupation against journalists.
Al-Lahham explained that the first half of this year witnessed a significant escalation in the targeting of journalists, with 41 members of their families killed, 32 homes belonging to them demolished, and 66 journalists injured, most of them by rocket shrapnel and live ammunition.
He added that the attacks have become more brutal than last year, taking place in shelters, tents, and hospitals, confirming that the targeting of journalists is a systematic political decision.
He pointed out that the report also documented the arrest of 25 journalists and a significant increase in direct shooting at them, while injuries from tear gas decreased, while injuries from bullets increased, in a clear policy to inflict serious harm on them. He also noted that 228 cases of media crews being prevented or detained and press coverage being prevented were recorded, reflecting a systematic policy of information blockade.
Al-Lahham emphasized that freedoms are indivisible, explaining that journalists in the Gaza Strip are being killed, while their colleagues in the West Bank face the terror of settlers and occupation forces, citing the brutal beating of colleague Issam Rimawi at the hands of settlers.
Al-Lahham commended the Bar Association's role in prosecuting the occupation's crimes against journalists, through legal documentation and effective cooperation with the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Authors.
For his part, Nasser Abu Bakr, head of the Journalists Syndicate, stated that the syndicate's Freedoms Committee issues monthly, semi-annual, and annual reports documenting violations against journalists in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
He stressed that the Syndicate will remain a defender of freedoms and will continue its support for journalists, particularly in the Gaza Strip. He noted that the Syndicate issued a statement yesterday on behalf of Gaza's journalists and all our people, in the face of the famine and genocide they are being subjected to, despite their continued work under bombardment and deprivation of the most basic necessities of life.
Abu Bakr appealed to the world to save the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, living without food or water and facing slow death from bombing and starvation. At the forefront of these are the journalists who continue to cover the conflict despite the genocidal conditions.
He called for the widest possible media coverage of the genocide and starvation of more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, stressing that this tragedy is unprecedented in modern history.
He pointed out that the Freedoms Committee's reports constitute a reference for the International Federation of Journalists and international press organizations, and are submitted to relevant UN organizations with the aim of exposing the occupation's crimes, holding perpetrators accountable, and bringing them to international justice.
שתף את דעתך
Journalists Syndicate: 33 dead in the first half of this month in the West Bank and Gaza.