Palestine Now World’s Most Dangerous Place for Journalists, Watchdog Says

Palestine has become the world’s most dangerous state for journalists amid Israel’s war on Gaza, with dozens of reporters likely killed specifically due to their work, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Al Jazeera reports.

In its 2025 World Press Freedom Index released on Friday, RSF reported that Israeli forces killed nearly 200 journalists in the first 18 months of the war, with at least 42 of those journalists slain while doing their job. “Trapped in the enclave, journalists in Gaza have no shelter and lack everything, including food and water,” the Paris-based group said. “In the West Bank, journalists are routinely harassed and attacked by both settlers and Israeli forces, but repression reached new heights with a wave of arrests after 7 October, when impunity for crimes committed against journalists became a new rule.”

The report also noted that journalists suspected of collaborating with Israel face obstacles from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, while a cybercrime law adopted by the Palestinian Authority limits freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Palestine ranked 163rd in the latest index, a drop of six places from 2024. Globally, 112 out of 180 jurisdictions saw declines in press freedom, with the average score falling to a record low of 55 points.

The United States dropped two places to a record low of 57, with RSF accusing President Donald Trump of overseeing a “troubling deterioration in press freedom.” Israel dropped 11 places to 112th, with Reporters Without Borders citing growing restrictions on press freedom, media plurality, and editorial independence since the start of the war in Gaza.

Eritrea was the lowest-ranked jurisdiction, just behind North Korea and China. Norway was ranked first for press freedom, followed by Estonia, the Netherlands, and Sweden.