Brothers, Cousins, Sons: The Personal Toll Behind Gaza’s Fallen Journalists
September 1, 2025
Gaza Conflict Becomes Deadliest Ever for Journalists, CPJ Warns
September 1, 2025
September 01, 2025 – Palestine –
Islam Muhareb Abed, a correspondent for Al-Quds Today TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. According to the Gaza Government Media Office, Abed was struck while covering the latest bombardments, making him the 247th journalist killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza last October. His death highlights once again the devastating toll on media workers in what rights groups and press freedom advocates are calling the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded.
Abed’s employer, Al-Quds Today TV, issued a statement mourning the loss of a colleague they described as courageous and committed to reporting the truth under fire. The channel vowed that despite repeated targeting of media workers, it would not abandon its mission to give a voice to Palestinians enduring siege and bombardment. Regional media echoed this grief, pointing out that journalists in Gaza have become frontline witnesses to destruction, often paying with their lives for their determination to document events.
The strike that killed Abed comes just days after a string of lethal attacks on press workers, including the devastating August 25 double-tap airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. That attack killed five journalists and scores of civilians, sparking international outrage. Human rights organizations and global media outlets have accused Israel of deliberately targeting the press to silence coverage of the humanitarian catastrophe. Editorials from leading newspapers argue that the killings cannot be dismissed as accidents of war but reflect a pattern of systematic intimidation.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have repeatedly condemned these attacks, urging impartial investigations and accountability. Yet, despite widespread condemnation, the killings continue almost daily. For the families of victims like Islam Abed, calls for justice remain unanswered, while surviving reporters press on, determined to ensure Gaza’s story is neither erased nor forgotten.
The death of Islam Abed underscores a grim reality: in Gaza, carrying a press badge has become as dangerous as carrying a weapon, and journalists remain trapped between their duty to report and the overwhelming risks of doing so.
Reference –
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