A total of 128 journalists were killed around the world in 2025, with more than half of the deaths occurring in the Middle East, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

The figure marks an increase from 2024 and represents what the press freedom group described as an unprecedented crisis for media workers globally.

“This is not just a statistic, it’s a global red alert for our colleagues,” IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger told AFP.

The IFJ expressed particular concern over the Palestinian territories, where it recorded the deaths of 56 journalists in 2025 amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

“We’ve never seen anything like this — so many deaths in such a short time, in such a small area,” Bellanger said.

Beyond Gaza, journalists were also killed in conflict zones and high-risk environments including Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, as well as countries such as Peru and India.

Bellanger strongly condemned what he described as widespread impunity for attacks on journalists, warning that the lack of accountability continues to embolden perpetrators.

“Without justice, it allows the killers of journalists to thrive,” he said.

In addition, the IFJ reported that 533 journalists are currently imprisoned worldwide — a number that has more than doubled over the past five years, further underscoring what the group called a deepening global assault on press freedom.