Sean Lattig

The Israeli military has killed 270 journalists since its war in Gaza began, leaving Palestinians — and the world — dangerously uninformed.

Over 270 journalists killed in Gaza since Oct. 7

Since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 270 journalists have been killed in Gaza while covering the genocide in Palestine, a death toll which has gradually turned the life of a journalist in Gaza from reporting to surviving, according to Al Jazeera. Gaza City has become the deadliest location in the world for journalists to report.

The loss of journalists has severely disrupted the flow of news and information out of and into the West Bank. The public relies on the news of journalists to understand what is happening in the world.

Without journalists and media reporters, both local communities and the global public have become reliant on social media for news, where news tends to be misinformation or unverified theories.

In a recent incident on Aug. 10, 2025, five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Israel claimed that Anas al-Sharif, one of the journalists, was working with Hamas, and the strike was sent down because of his alleged affiliation.

The United Nations human rights office has stated that the attack was a violation of international law. Under international humanitarian law, journalists are considered protected civilians and it is prohibited to target them.

Following the attack, Al Jazeera has shared on their platform that they aren’t going to stop reporting and that they’re urging other news organizations to join them and recruit more journalists. Many of these new organizations fear that they may also be targeted next, leading many journalists to begin writing messages for after their death and finalizing their wills.

Israel’s targeting of journalists goes beyond Gaza. An Israeli settler shot and killed the Palestinian English teacher, activist, and collaborator on the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land”, Awdah Hathaleen, in the West Bank on July 28, 2025. His death was captured on video and shared across news sites — sparking widespread criticism of Hathaleen’s murder and evoking a rise of alarm within the storytelling community.

These events underscore the silencing of voices from journalists in Gaza and citizens themselves. To these Palestinians, each death is a signal that the solidarity for them is declining, a feeling as the world has abandoned them and left them to suffer after seeing so many journalists die, and solidarity efforts — like the boycott campaign — wane.

Truth without journalists

The silencing of these journalists has led to many citizens deciding to take matters into their own hands. Many of these citizens have taken to social media using popular hashtags like #dubaichocolate, or taking popular TikToks and cutting them halfway to add a clip of themselves begging for help. Some risk retaliation for posting such content, while others use trending sounds or coded language to avoid having their videos taken down.

These citizen-led efforts aren’t just people sharing their grief but an attempt to take back the narrative that is trying to be stolen from them. This growing reliance on social media demonstrates how vital journalists are in sharing the voices of those whose truths might otherwise be left uncovered.

The ongoing war has also caused many journalists to flee. One famous photojournalist, Motaz Azaiza, has been active since 2014. In January 2024, after documenting the Israel-Palestine conflict for 108 days, he fled with his family in fear for their safety and his own.

During his time as a journalist in Gaza he stood by and continuously shared, through his platforms and through his photography, what was happening in Gaza City and the West Bank. He watched journalists who had become close friends die, along with members of his own family, saying to The Guardian that “he’s lost count of how many friends he has lost.” Azaiza explained that he left Gaza because of the increasing danger of reporting from a warzone and the emotional toll it took on him, yet he still continues to speak out on the Israel-Palestine conflict asking for help and using his platform to raise awareness, stating in an interview that “the ghosts of Gaza still follow me.”

Azaiza’s story highlights the emotional and psychological effects that come with reporting from a warzone. His work also emphasizes the vital role journalists play in exposing the humanitarian crises in Gaza.

Gaza is the most malnourished area in the world. Children and families don’t have access to basic nutrients and clean water. Typically the journalists are the ones who play the key role in reporting these humanitarian crises and asking for help. With fewer journalists in the West Bank and Gaza, urgent needs of citizens are going unnoticed. Some Gazans have even begun begging for food and water and giving up on asking for aid.

The growing desperation emphasizes the critical role that journalists play in sharing the voices of those who can’t. Journalists reporting is often one of the few ways in which people from all around the world can access the news and what is happening around them.