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Docs Under MAGA Including "Union": Stranded, Abandoned & Hollywood 'Kryptonite'
theankler.com/p/docs-under-maga-stranded-abandoned-hollywood-kryptonite
Alex Gibney on 'no appetite [to] offend', buyers ghosting Oscar shortlist films, Amazon's $40M Melania check and CEOs' fear
NICOLE LAPORTE
JAN 22, 2025
TRUMP TIME The 47th President and his MAGA movement will loom over Sundance documentarians looking for a sale and distribution.
When documentarians and doc lovers alike gathered in Park City, Utah, a year ago for the Sundance Film Festival, Joe Biden was embarking on a too-close-to-call race for the White House, Participant Media was an active buyer — it picked up three titles at the fest — and Netflix acquired the ambitious documentary Power, a blistering indictment of the American police state, even before it premiered at Sundance.
On the eve of Sundance 2025, the whiplash effect is here. For documentary filmmakers whose work explores political subject matter, sure, Sundance might offer a prize and even put a film into the awards conversation. After all, 10 of the 15 documentary shortlist films in contention for an Oscar nomination screened here last year. But neither Sundance nor any festival can now guarantee what every political filmmaker really wants: a buyer and distribution.
The MAGA-sphere that ushered Donald Trump back to the Oval Office could already be seen in the doc market last year — even before he won. Three political films from 2024 on the Oscar doc shortlist have yet to be picked up for distribution by a studio or streamer:
The Bibi Files, an expose of the corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, directed by Alexis Bloom
No Other Land, about efforts by the Israeli government to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank to make way for settlements that had resulted in U.S. sanctions (Trump lifted those sanctions on day one)
Union, a cinema vérité look at the first successful unionization effort of an Amazon fulfillment center
“There is less and less of an appetite to distribute films that might offend some people,” says Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning documentarian and a producer of The Bibi Files.
If doc makers had any hopes for a return to the resistance boom times of the first Trump administration — when the likes of RBG and Knock Down the House were hot properties — one need look no further than the inauguration on Jan. 20 to see just how little interest corporate behemoths are likely to have in any documentaries that challenge the new status quo or risk offending President Trump. There was not only Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook but also the CEOs of the two platforms docs rely on to promote their work — Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai — all sitting behind the 47th President after donating millions to his inauguration committee.
BILLIONAIRES’ ROW From left: Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk at President Trump’s inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20. (Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
“Streamers are associated with big businesses, be they retail or tech devices, and they don’t want to offend potential customers,” says Gibney, who directed Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. “Bibi Files, four to five years ago, would have been snapped up and I think would have done very, very well.”
Today, the kind of political documentary project subject to bidding wars is one that’d be laughed off Main Street Park City. “Forty million for a Melania Trumpdoc? Really?” says Gibney. He’s referring, of course, to Amazon having just spent $40 million on a documentary about the First Lady, directed by the suddenly un-canceled Brett Ratner. Worse, Amazon won the rights by besting Disney, fresh off caving on its lawsuit with Trump over George Stephanopoulos’ alleged defamation, and Paramount, currently trying to get the Trump administration to approve its acquisition by Skydance. That deal, of course, is backed by Trump megadonor Larry Ellison, who appeared at the White House on Jan. 21 where he and the President made goo-goo eyes at each other.
LOVE MATCH President Trump and Larry Ellison, the fourth richest person in the world. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
No wonder then that the purchase has been called “payola” by Democratic political strategist James Carville, and widely interpreted as a sign that Amazon, like many other tech companies, is genuflecting before the incoming President.
“And she’s the executive producer?” Gibney continues, incredulously. “I guess that’ll be the future: The First Lady of whatever administration comes into office and [companies say], ‘Let’s make sure we get on the President’s good side.’”
But as one documentary filmmaker tells me: “Love it or hate it, that film is going to be a big hit.”
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Et Tu, Jeff?
This despairing comes as the doc community is still reeling from Covid largely killing the theatrical market for their films and streamers having snapped their pocketbooks shut after a period of frothy overspending. Participant, which won four best documentary Oscars in 20 years, closed up shop last April; imagine the shock for the community then when Participant founder Jeff Skoll, who financed Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, revealed even his own MAGA turn:
As an agent tells me, any documentary “that whiffs of progressive wokeness, for lack of a better term, is kryptonite right now.”
Yet despite all of the political and cultural headwinds, filmmakers are getting creative in trying to get their projects seen. I talked to Gibney, Joe Berlinger(Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost) and Matt Tyrnauer (The Reagans, Where’s My Roy Cohn?), Toronto International Film Festival programmer Thom Powers, Union producer Samantha Curley, agent turned producer Kevin Iwashina (Jiro Dreams of Sushi), agents and nearly a dozen others to find out what exactly is going on — and it’s not pretty (but also not entirely hopeless).
My interviews paint a picture of Big Tech’s influence to make political docs “invisible” not just in terms of buying but also promotion, but also how to bypass traditional distribution to make sure important films are still seen — and why the shifts may not entirely be about politics at Netflix, Amazon and Apple. My interview subjects also offer solutions that start to answer the question of, as Iwashina puts it, “How do we assemble ourselves and support one another in creating a more positive environment for everyone?”
No one involved with Union, directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story, thought that Amazon would be a buyer for a film featuring its own employees “working in the most insidious and harshest working environments,” as Maing said at The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction Documentary Spotlight earlier this month. “Amazon is considered more dangerous than logging and law enforcement.”
But what the filmmakers hadn’t anticipated was Amazon’s influence within the industry. “There were other (buyers) who wouldn’t touch it because it was about Amazon,” says Samantha Curley, one of Union’s producers and cofounder of Level Ground Productions, which focuses on socio-political stories. “We heard from sales agents and some other friends inside companies who said they just do too much business with Amazon to jeopardize” that relationship.
But, Curley believes, there’s more to it. A lot.
Docs Under MAGA: Stranded, Abandoned & Hollywood 'Kryptonite'
theankler.com
Alex Gibney on ‘no appetite [to] offend’, buyers ghosting Oscar shortlist films, Amazon’s $40M Melania check and CEOs’ fear
KPFA Programmer & APTP Director Charged With Being A Union Buster
Tried To Allow Managers To Vote In Union Election
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/soleilho/article/nonprofit-unions-workers-20038770.php
One of the Bay Area’s most progressive nonprofits is warring with itself
By Soleil Ho,
Opinion Columnist & Cultural Critic
Jan 24, 2025
Police-Terror Project Executive Director Cat Brooks and some members of her staff are in a dispute over unionization efforts at the nonprofit organization.
Anti Police-Terror Project Executive Director Cat Brooks and some members of her staff are in a dispute over unionization efforts at the nonprofit organization.
Samantha Laurey/Special to the Chronicle 2023
In the heart of the Bay Area’s social justice scene, a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting police violence is now warring with itself.
Nine of the 15 staff members of the Anti Police-Terror Project, a nonprofit known for redistributing millions to Black community organizations, supporting victims of police violence and advocating for police abolition, are seeking union recognition — a move that has exposed deep fractures within the organization.
The project — founded as an all-volunteer group — experienced rapid growth following George Floyd’s murder. The Chronicle reported that the group’s annual budget blossomed from $4,000 to nearly $900,000, reflecting the surge of national support for Black-led social justice work. Yet this transformation from a volunteer-driven collective to a structured nonprofit set the stage for its current strife.
On Dec. 11, workers formally requested voluntary union recognition from Executive Director Cat Brooks, citing a desire to improve working conditions, including bolstering workplace morale, improving volunteer retention and giving a formal voice to the staff. They gave Brooks until Jan. 8 to respond. When she didn’t, they petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold a unionization vote. In response, Brooks filed her own petition with the board.
The union has accused Brooks of union-busting, and many of its supporters on Instagram have interpreted the project’s reluctance to voluntarily recognize the union as a sign of its progressiveness being a facade. When I called Brooks, she was traveling to an event commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who famously walked with strikers and opposed “right to work” laws.
Here’s the rub: While Brooks said she supports a union, her issue is that several Black staff members and the families that the organization works with were excluded from the unionization conversation.
In their public statements, the workers hoping to unionize emphasize their diverse composition, noting the union comprises “Black staff as well as brown, queer and disabled staff.”
Brooks’ petition with the National Labor Relations Board calls for a vote among all 15 staff members, including the deputy director, several managers and other directors of the organization. Under the National Labor Relations Act, supervisors are not considered normal employees and cannot be included in union votes. It defines supervisors as “any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibly to direct them,” among other duties that allow them to exercise power over other staff.
Brooks insists that she is the only person with the power to hire and fire and that no other staff member can act independently. But she also admitted to me that including supervisory staff in her petition was an error and said she would ask the National Labor Relations Board to amend it, removing five people from the list.
Brooks shared an anonymous letter with me that was allegedly written by a staff member in concert with 20 family members of those impacted by police violence expressing concern about the unionization effort.
“We explicitly demand the preservation of APTP’s current structure and Black leadership,” it said. They also claimed that there has been “significant disruption” of services. Brooks did not share who wrote the staff letter and did not comment on what disruption the writer was talking about.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, it’s not normal for clients or community members to have any say over worker organizing matters, but Brooks maintains that the Anti Police-Terror Project isn’t normal — that families should be an integral part of the conversation.
“We are not leadership-centered,” she said. “We are not worker-centered. We’re not volunteer-centered. We are family-centered.”
On Sunday, project co-founder (and volunteer) Asantewaa Boykin issued a public statement, shared on social media by Brooks’ publicist, Philip Mandelbaum, accusing the union of “colonization.” She also accused a former staff member of acting in bad faith, “using tactics including but not limited to verbal abuse and physical aggression … to further his agenda.”
Meanwhile, an anonymous Instagram account purporting to be from project volunteers has questioned the organization’s commitment to justice, with one post asking: “How can I believe I am building towards liberation from state oppression when my umbrella organization is employing the tactics of those same oppressors?”
The Anti Police-Terror Project’s union insisted to me on keeping its members anonymous out of fear of reprisal, but sent a statement, which read in part: “Having a union simply means workers can negotiate about our working conditions — we want all frontline workers at APTP to have a say, not just leadership.”
Brooks, born into a union family and a member of two unions herself, insisted she would be “in complete support” of a union if more staff approved it. “We have marched with unions, fought for unions, done policy with unions. I’m gonna spit in the face of my union brothers and sisters? Absolutely not.”
Nationally, unionization at nonprofits has grown since the pandemic began. In 2022, Gallup reported that 71% of Americans approved of worker unions. Since 2010, the Nonprofit Professional Employees’ Union’s membership has grown from 70 nonprofit professionals to 1,500 members representing nearly 50 organizations.
One of the Bay Area’s most progressive nonprofits is warring with itself
www.sfchronicle.com
Here’s what Anti Police-Terror Project executive director Cat Brooks has to say about accusations of union busting at her organization.
Palestine: At least 152 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza
www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/palestine-at-least-152-journ…
16 January 2025
[UPDATED 16.01.2025] At least 152 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed, several have been injured and others are missing during the war in Gaza. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) condemn the killings and continued attacks on journalists. The IFJ calls for an immediate investigation into their deaths.
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Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on buildings in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on October 9, 2023. Credit: Mahmud Hams / AFP
In such dangerous conditions, the IFJ reminds journalists on the ground to take precautions, wear professional safety equipment and not to travel without their media providing them with all the professional safety equipment needed to cover events. No story is worth the life of a journalist.
In the early hours of 7 October, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack in southern Israel. In response, Israel retaliated with airstrikes over the besieged Gaza Strip and formally declared war at Hamas. The IFJ is working closely with PJS to verify information in real time and document all killings. Check the list of journalists and media workers killed since the start of the war in Gaza.
Journalists and media workers
Just as it appeared that Israel and Hamas were on the verge of reaching a ceasefire agreement on 15 January, three Palestinian journalists were killed in separate attacks in Gaza. On 15 January, PJS mourned the killing of journalist Aql Hussein Saleh, who lost his life as a result of an Israeli attack in Al-Shati Camp, west of Gaza City. On the same day, Al Ghad TV channel reported the killing of journalist Ahmed Hesham Abu Al-Rous in an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Freelance journalist Ahmed Al-Shayyah, who worked for several media outlets, was killed in an Israeli bombardment in western Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
On 10 January, the PJS reported the killing of journalist Saed Abu Nabhan, who worked for Alghad TV and was a freelance photographer for Anadolu Agency. He was killed by an Israeli sniper, while the journalist was working in central Gaza's Nuseirat area.
On 3 January, journalist Omar Al-Derawi was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his family’s home in Al-Zawaida, the central Gaza Strip, PJS and media reported.
On 26 December, five journalists working for the satellite channel Al-Quds Today were killed when an Israeli missile targeted the broadcasting vehicle, marked as press, they were in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza. The names of the killed journalists were Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed Al-Ladda, Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan and Ayman Al-Jadi.
Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed al-Louh was killed in an Israeli airstrike on central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp
On 15 December Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed al-Louh was killed in an Israeli airstrike on central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp.
On 14 December, journalist Mohammed Jaber Al-Qerinawi, an editor at Sanad News Agency, was killed in an Israeli aistrike that targeted his home in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip
On 14 December journalist Mohammed Baalousha who worked for Dubai Al Mashhad television was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City.
On 11 December, journalist and broadcaster at Voice of Al-Aqsa Radio, Eman El-Shanti, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment in Al-Malash Tower in Sheikh Radwan, northwestern Gaza City. The strike also killed El-Shanti's husband and their three children.
On 2 December, Quds News Network reported the killing of one of its employees, journalist Maysara Salah, who was injured near Awni Al-Harthani School in northern Gaza and died at Kamal Adwan Hospital.
On 30 November, journalist Mamdouh Quneita, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, was killed when an Israeli drone shot at him in the courtyard of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, PJS reported.
On 19 November, freelance photojournalist Ahmed Abu Shariya, who worked for Tasnim Agency, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Sabra neighbourhood in southern Gaza, media reported.
On 16 November, journalist Mohammed Saleh Al-Sharif lost his life when an Israeli drone shot at him near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza Strip, PJS and media reported.
On 1 November, photojournalist Bilal Muhammad Rajab, who worked for Al-Quds Al-Youm channel, was killed in an attack by an Israeli drone near the Firas market in Gaza City, according to PJS and media.
On 27 October, PJS reported the killing of Saed Radwan, head of the digital media department at Al-Aqsa TV; Hamza Abu Salmiya, journalist at Sand News Agency; and Haneen Mahmoud Baroud, journalist at the Al Quds Foundation. They lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike that hit Asmaa 'B' School in Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
On 9 October, local media reported the killing of photojournalist Mohammad Al Tanani, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, by Israeli airstrikes in the area of Jabalia, northern Gaza. In the same bombardment, reporter Tamer Lubbad, also working for Al Aqsa TV, was injured. Al Jazeera's cameraman Fadi Al-Wahidi was wounded by Israeli gunfire while reporting the situation in northern Gaza, the media network reported.
On 6 October, freelance journalist Hassan Hamad was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza. Al Jazeera reported Hamad's killing and stated that the journalist was warned by an Israeli officer to stop filming in Gaza.
On 30 September, woman journalist Wafa Aludaini, along with her husband and two children, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, according to media reports. Aludaini was the founder of the October 16th Media Group and worked there as a senior journalist.
On 28 August, journalist Mohammad Abed Rabbo of Al-Manara Media Production Company was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his apartment in central Gaza.
On 26 August, PJS reported the death of 39-year-old journalist Ali Taima, a cameraman for Al-Awda TV channel, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
On 22 August, Al Quds TV photojournalist Hossam Manal Al-Dabbaka was killed with his wife, children and other family members when their apartment was hit by an Israeli strike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, media reported.
On 20 August, journalist Hamza Murtaja was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit Mustafa Hafez School, in western Gaza City, PJS reported.
On 18 August, freelance photojournalist Ibrahim Muhareb, who worked for a number of media, was killed due to Israeli gunfire and shelling in western Khan Yunis when the Israeli tanks entered the city in southern Gaza, PJS and media reported.
On 9 August, journalist Tamim Muammar, who worked for the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation – Voice of Palestine, and journalist Abdullah Al-Sousi, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, were killed in two different Israeli airstrikes in Khan Yunis, southern of the Gaza Strip, PJS and media reported.
On 31 July, journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Refee, who worked for Al Jazeera Arabic, were killed in an Israeli air attack in Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, PJS reported.
On 29 July, the PJS reported the killing of journalist of Mohammad Majid Abu Daqa in an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis, southern of the Gaza Strip.
On 13 July, journalist Mohammad Manhal Abu Armanah, was killed in an Israeli strike that hit tents of displaced people in Khan Yunis, southern of the Gaza Strip, Al Mayadeen reported.
On 6 July, the couple formed by Palestine Now news agency correspondent, Amjad Al-Jahjouh, and programme producer and presenter at the Islamic University radio station, Wafa Abu Dabaan, were killed in an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip. On the same day, journalist and editor at the Palestine Media Agency, Rizq Abu Shakyan, was killed in an Israeli strike that hit his home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to PJS and media.
On 5 July, director of Deep Shot Media production company, Saadi Madoukh, and journalist Adeeb Sukkar, who worked for the same media, were killed in an Israeli strike in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City. On the same day, media director of Al Quds TV, Mohammad Al Sakni, was killed when a strike hit his home in Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, PJS reported.
On 1 July, editor-in-chief of local news agency Shams, Mohammad Abu Sharia, succumbed to his injuries sustained from an Israeli missile launched near the journalist's home in Gaza City.
On 31 May, journalist and presenter of local radio Watan, Ola al-Dahdouh, was killed in an Israeli bombing of her home on Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City, PJS reported.
On 17 May, photojournalist working for the local Palestine Post Network, Mahmoud Jahjouh, was killed along with his family in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza city, according to PJS, the Palestine Post Network and other media.
On 15 May, Hael Al-Najjar, media worker for Al Aqsa Media Network was killed in an Israeli strike that hit his house on the Old Gaza Street in Jabalia refugee camp, PJS and mediareported.
On 11 May, photojournalist Baha Akasha, who worked for Al Aqsa Media Network, was killed in an Israeli strike on his house in Al-Qasasib neighbourhood in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, according to PJS and severalmedia.
On 6 May, freelance photojournalist Mustafa Ayyad, who worked for Al Jazeera Live, was killed after being critically injured in an Israeli strike on his home in the Zeitun neighbourhood, northern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported.
On 25 April, Mohammed Basam Al Jamal, who worked as a correspondent for Palestine Now news agency, succumbed to his injuries following an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in Al-Jenenah neighbourhood in Rafah, in southern Gaza, PJS and media reported.
On 28 March, editor and graphic designer Mohammed Abu Sakhil, who worked for Shams News Agency, was killed during Israel's military raid on Al-Shifa hospital and surrounding areas in Gaza City that lasted for two weeks, Shams News Agency reported. In the same raid on Al-Shifa hospital, digital media editor for Voice of Al-Quds radio, Tariq al-Sayed Abu Shakil, lost his life on 28 March, according to media reports.
On 25 March, media worker at WAFA news agency, Saher Akram Rayyan, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, media reported.
On 15 March, photographer and producer Abdel Rahman Saima, who worked for Raqmi TV, was killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza City. On the same day, photojournalist Mohammed al-Rifi succumbed to his injuries in southern Gaza City, PJS reported.
On 5 March, journalist and presenter at Al Aqsa TV, Mohammed Khader Ahmad Salama, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, PJS reported.
On 1 March, PJS confirmed the death of journalist Ibrahim Mahamid, who died of his wounds five months after being injured by Israeli fire. Mahamid worked as a presenter and cameraman for Al-Salam TV, Al-Shaab TV and other local channels, and was a member of PJS for about 30 years, the Syndicate reported.
On 23 February, PJS confirmed the killing of photojournalist Mohammad Yaghi in an Israel bombing near Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. According to Al Jazeera, Yaghi worked as a professional photographer for a number of international media, including Al Jazeera Network.
On 12 February, journalist Alaa al-Hams, who worked for local media, died of her wounds, according to PJS and media. Al-Hams was seriously injured two weeks ago, when an Israeli bombing hit her home in al-Geneina neighbourhood in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. On the same day, journalist Angham Ahmed Adwan, who worked for Libyan TV channel February, was killed following an Israeli airstrike that hit her home in Jabalia city.
On 8 February, PJS confirmed the killing of Palestine TV's director Nafez Abdel Jawad and his son. Both lost their lives when an Israeli airstrike hit their home in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.
On 29 January, journalist Mohamed Abdel El Fatah Atta Allah, who worked as an editor for Al-Risala newspaper, was killed with members of his family in an Israeli bombardment that hit his house in Al Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, according to PJS.
On 26 January, journalist Iyad Ahmed Al-Ruwahi, who worked as a correspondent and presenter for Voice of Al Aqsa Radio, was killed together with members of his family when an Israeli airstrike hit his home in Al-Hasayna area of Al Nuseirat refugee camp, PJS reported.
On 14 January, photographer Yazan Al-Zuweidi, who worked for Al-Ghad TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the city of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, according to PJS and Al Ghad.
On 11 January, PJS confirmed the death of Mohammed Jamal Sabahi Al Thalathini, who worked as a journalist for Al Quds TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in the south of Gaza city.
On 10 January, journalist Ahmad Bdeir, who worked for local magazine Hadaf News, was killed as a result of an Israeli bombardment outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, PJS and media reported.
On 9 January, PJS confirmed the killing of journalist Heba Al-Abdallah, who lost her life when an Israeli bombing hit her home in the southern city of Khan Yunis, media reported.
On 7 January, journalist Hamza Al-Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, Wael Al-Dahdouh, was killed together with journalist Mustafa Thuraya, when an Israel drone hit the car they where travelling on assignment near Rafah, several local and international media and PJSreported. Hamza Al Dahdouh was working for Al Jazeera and Mustafa Thuraya was a freelance videographer working for Agence France Presse.
On 5 January, journalist Akram Al-Shafei, a correspondent for Safa News Agency, lost his life after being seriously injured by an Israeli aristrike two months ago during the siege of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza city, PJS and media reported.
On 29 December, Jaber Abu Hedrous, a correspondent for Al-Quds Channel, was killed in an air strike on his house.
On 28 December, photojournalist Ahmad Khair Al Din, working for Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his house in Al Beit Lahia, north Gaza.
On 28 December, Mohammad Khair Al Din, archiving officer at Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his house in Al Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip.
On 24 December, broadcast engineer Huthaifa Lulu, working at prisoners radio, and formerly working for Al Quds TV, was found dead with his wife, daughter and a high number of family members after an airstrike targeted his house in Gaza.
On 24 December, photojournalist Mohammad Abdul Khaleq Al Ghuf, working for Al Rai news agency, was killed while reporting on the war in Gaza.
On 24 December, journalist Mohammad Saidi (Khalifa), director at Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his house in Al Nusseirat, Gaza.
On 23 December, journalist Ahmad Jamal Madhoun, deputy director at Al Rai news agency, was killed in an airstrike that targeted north Gaza.
On 22 December, photojournalist Mohammad Nasser Abu Hweidy working for Al Istiqlal newspaper was killed during coverage at Al Shoja’ia in Gaza.
On 18 December, media worker Abdallah Alwan, who contributed to Al Jazeera owned platform Midan, among other media, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
On 17 December, journalist Haneen Ali Al-Qashtan, who worked for Sawt Al Watan Radio, was killed along with members of her family in an Israeli bombardment on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, PJS reported.
On 16 December, journalist Assem Kamal Moussa, who worked for the Palestine Now network, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in the southern city of Khan Yunis, according to PJS and media.
On 15 December, PJS and Al Jazeera confirmed the killing of cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, who worked for Al Jazeera Arabic. He was killed by a drone strike while covering the aftermath of Israeli attacks on a school in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. In the same attack, Al Jazeera bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Al-Dahdouh, was wounded.
On 13 December, PJS confirmed the killing of journalist and former Al-Mayadeen correspondent Abdul Karim Odeh, who lost his life in an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseriat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, media reported.
On 11 December, PJS confirmed the death of Narmeen Qawwas, an intern at Russia Today (RT), killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit the family home in Gaza.
On 9 December, journalist Ala Atallah was killed together with nine members of her family in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City, PJS and Roya News reported. On the same day, photojournalist Mohamed Abu Samra lost his life as a result of Israeli bombardment in southern Gaza Strip, according to PJS.
On the same day, freelance journalist Duaa Jabbour, who worked for the local media website Eyes Media Network, was killed together with her family in an Israeli airstrike that hit her home in the southern city of Khan Yunis, PJS and media reported.
On 4 December, WAFA news agency confirmed the death of freelance journalist Shaima Jazzar, who worked for Al Hayat newspaper and Majedat Rafah network, was killed together with nine members of her family in an Israeli bombing that hit her home in the southern city of Rafah.
On 3 December, PJS confirmed the killing of Al Quds TV executive Hassan Farajallah, who was killed in an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.
On 1 December, PJS and media confirmed the death of photojournalist Abdallah Darwish, who worked for Al Aqsa TV and was killed in an Israeli raid in the Gaza Strip. Later during the day, photographer Muntaser Al-Sawaf, who worked for the Turkish news agency Anadolu, was killed in an airstrike that hit the family home in Gaza City, Anadolu Agency reported. The strike also killed photojournalist Marwan Al-Sawaf, Muntaser's brother, who worked for Alef Media, according to media reports.
On the same day, freelance journalist Adham Hassouna was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza city.
On 25 November, the body of Nader Al-Nazli, who worked as a technician for Palestine TV, was found under the rubble, one week after his house was bombed.
On 24 November, journalist Amal Zahed was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City and journalist and cameraman Mustafa Bakir, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, lost his life in an Israeli airstrike on his house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, PJS reported.
On 23 November, photojournalist Muhammad Moin Ayyash was killed, alongside with a number of his family members, in an Israeli strike on his house in the Nuseirat refugge camp in the Gaza Strip, according to WAFA news agency.
On 22 November, PJS and Al Jazeera confirmed the deaths of Mohamad Nabil Al-Zaq, who worked for Quds TV and was killed in an Israeli strike; and Assem Al-Barsh, who worked for Palestinian Al-Ray radio and was killed by an Israeli sniper in the Al-Saftawi area in northern Gaza Strip.
On 21 November, Jamal Hanieh, editor at Amwaj Sports Media Network, was killed in an Israeli bombardment on Gaza City, according to the media Hanieh worked for.
On 20 November, PJS reported the death of digital and broadcaster journalist Ayat Al-Khaddura, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza city. Before her killing, she posted a video from her home on social media documenting the ongoing situation in Gaza.
On the same day, journalist Khamis Salem Deab, editor at Al Quds radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in Gaza, PJS reported.
On 19 November, Bilal Jadallah, who was the director general of media development organisation Press House in Gaza, was killed in his car in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, according to PJS and media.
On 18 November, PJS and the media reported the deaths of several journalists and media workers in Gaza. Photographer Moseab Ashour was killed in an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip days before.
Journalist and writer Mustafa Al-Sawaf was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Gaza city. Al Sawaf was killed alongside his wife and two of his children. His two sons, who are also journalists, Monaster Al-Sawaf and Mohammad Al-Sawaf, were critically wounded.
Amr Abu Hayya, who worked in the broadcasting department of Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza.
Director of Quds News Network Saary Mansour and freelance photographer Hassouneh Isleem, who worked for Quds News, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp, according to PJS and Al Jazeera.
On the same day, Abdelhalim Awad, media worker and driver of Al Aqsa TV was killed in a strike on his home, PJS reported.
On 15 November, freelance journalist Mahmoud Matar was killed in an airstrike on his home in Gaza.
On 14 November, director general of Namaa Radio, Yacoub Bursh, was killed in an airstrike that hit his home in Gaza, media reported.
On 13 November, photographer Ahmed Fatmah, who worked for Al Qahera News, was killed due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, PJS and Al Qahera News reported.
On 12 November, PJS and MADA confirmed the death of journalist Mousa Al Barsh, who was the executive director of local Namaa Radio, following an Israeli airstrike on his home in northern Gaza.
On 10 November, photojournalist Ahmed Al-Qara was killed at the entrance of Khuza'a town, east of the southern city of Khan Yunis, according to PJS.
On 7 November, journalist Yahya Abu Munie, who worked for Al Aqsa radio, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City. PJS and Al Jazeera reported.
On 7 November, PJS and WAFA confirmed the death of journalist Mohammad Abu Hasira, a correspondent for Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA), who was killed in an Israeli bombing near the fishermen's port in Gaza City. According to WAFA, the airstrike took place overnight between Sunday and Monday, but the body of Abu Hasira was found in the rubble on 7 November.
On 6 November, media worker Mohammed Al Jajeh, who worked for media development organisation Press House, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza City. PJS and media reported his death.
On 2 November, journalist Mohammad Abu Hatab, a member of PJS and IFJ who worked as a correspondent for Palestine TV, was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit his home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. PJS reported his death. PJS reported his death. On the same day, journalist Mohammed Bayyari, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, was killed.
On the same day, Iyad Matar, who worked as an administrative staff for Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli bombardment that hit his home on the Gaza Strip, media reported.
On 1 November, PJS confirmed the killing of journalist Majd Fadl Arandas, who worked for the news website Al-Jamahir, during a bombing near his house in the Nuseirat camp, in the Deir al-Balah Governorate.
On 31 October, Palestine TV confirmed the death of two media workers, Majd Kashkou and Imad Wahidi in an Israeli airstrike over Gaza city.
On 30 October, PJS and WAFA news agency confirmed the death of Nazmi Al-Nadim, deputy director of finance and administration for Palestine TV. Al-Nadim was killed when an Israeli warplane bombed his house in Zeitun neighbourhood in Gaza city.
On 27 October, Yasser Abu Namous, who worked for Al Sahel media, was killed during Israeli airstrike that hit his house in eastern Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, PJS and WAFA news agency reported.
On 26 October, PJS and WAFA news agency confirmed the death of journalist Duaa Sharaf, who worked at Al Aqsa Radio, in a missile attack that struk her home in the Al-Zawaida neighborhood, central Gaza Strip.
On the same day, PJS confirmed the killing of media worker Mohammad Fayez Al Hassani, director general of Rawasi, who lost his life in an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in the Gaza Strip.
On 25 October, journalist Jamal Al-Faqawi, who worked at Mithaq Media Network, was killed when an Israeli bombardment hit his home in the city of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.
On 25 October, PJS confirmed the death of three journalists Saed Al-Halabi, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, that was killed when his home in Jabalia, in the north of the Gaza Strip, was targeted. Ahmed Abu Mahadi, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, PJS reported. On the same day, journalist Salma Mukhaimar was killed in an air strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, PJS reported.
On the same day, journalist Zaher Al Afghani, who worked for Mithaq Media Network, was killed when an airstrike hit his home in Deir Al Balah.
On 23 October, Palestinian news agency WAFA and PJS confirmed the death of journalist Mohammed Imad Labad, who worked for Al Resalah news website, following an Israeli bombing close to his house in Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza city.
On 22 October, Roshdi Sarraj, co-founder of Ain Media, photojournalist, film-maker and fixer for several international media, including Radio France, was killed in an Israeli air raid that hit his home, western Gaza city, PJS and mediareported.
On 21 October, Hani Madhoun, who worked as an administrative staff for Al Aqsa TV, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Gaza.
On 20 October, PJS confirmed the death of Muhammad Abu Ali, a journalist with Al-Shabab radio in Gaza, who was killed by Israeli shelling of his home in the northern Gaza strip.
On 19 October, Khalil Abu Athra, cameraman for Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in the Al-Nasr neighborhood, north of Rafah.
On 18 October Al-Aqsa TV producer and director Samih Al-Nadi was killed in an aircraft bombing on the Gaza Strip.
On 17 October, PJS reported the killing of Al Aqsa TV journalist Isam Bahar, following the bombing of his house in Gaza city.
On the same day, Palestine TV journalist Mohammed Balousha was killed in his apartment due to bombings in Gaza city. PJS and media confirmed his death.
On 16 October, a bombardment hit the house of Al Aqsa TV journalist Abdul Hadi Habib in the Zeitun neighbourhood in Gaza city. PJS and media confirmed his death.
On 14 October, freelance journalist Yousef Dawwas was killed together with his family in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported.
On 13 October, PJS confirmed the killing of journalist Hossam Mubarak, working for Al AqsaTV, when an Israeli shelling hit his home in northern Gaza city.
On 12 October, producer of Voice of Prisoners Radio Ahmed Shehab was killed alongside with his family members when an Israeli airstrike struk his house in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, PJS reported.
On 11 October, the PJS confirmed the death of freelance photographer Mohammed Fayez Yousef Abu Matar, 28, following Israeli bombings on Rafah governorate, southern Gaza Strip. According to the state-run news agency WAFA, Abu Matar was a freelance photographer covering the ongoing military operations when he was killed.
On 10 October, the PJS said in a statement that three Palestinian journalists Said Al-Tawil, director of Al-Khamisa news agency and photojournalist Mohammed Sobboh and photographer Hisham Al-Nawahjh, both worked for Khabar news agency, were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit a residential building near Gaza City's fishing port. The Hamas-run government said that the three reporters were covering the evacuation of a residential building nearby, when the missile struck, AFP reported.
On the same day, Salam Meimah, who worked for Al Quds Radio, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza strip. Her body was recovered from the rubber three days later.
On 8 October, freelance journalist Asaad Shamlakh was killed with his family in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Sheikh Ejline neighborhood in Gaza city, PJS and BBC Arabic confirmed.
On 7 October, Palestinian photojournalist Mohammad Al-Salhi, working for news agency Fourth Authority was shot dead while covering the military operations at the border east of Palestinian refugee camp Al-Bureij, located in the central Gaza Strip, according to the state-run news agency WAFA.
Ibrahim Lafi from Ain Media news agency was killed while reporting near Beit Hanoun checkpoint, close to the separation fence with Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip, the media reported.
On the same day, journalist Mohammad Jarghoun, working for Smart Media, a media production company in Gaza, was killed while covering the fight between Hamas and the Israeli army, close to Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
* The IFJ is working hard to keep this list up-to-date and accurate, seeking multiple sources for each name added, and concentrating on those who worked as journalists and media workers. Our intention is to list every journalist and media worker who has lost their life during the war. We welcome any further information that either contextualises the deaths itemised, or adds names to the list.
More information about journalists killed in Israel since 7 October here
More information about journalists killed in Lebanon since 7 October here
Journalists missing and injured
PJS warned that on 7 October contact was lost with local journalist Nidal Al-Wahidi from Al-Najah TV station and photographer Haitham Abdel Wahedfrom Ain Media agency. Both professionals were covering the fights close to the separation fence with Israel, near Beit Hanoun checkpoint. The next day, Al-Wahidi’s family informed the media that the journalist had been arrested by the Israeli army.
On 7 October, in the southern Gaza Strip, correspondent for Al-Ghad TV channel, Ibrahim Qanan, was injured in the leg by a missile strike targeted at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis city. In a similar incident, PJS reported that journalist Salah Abu Salah was wounded by a missile's shrapnel at Abasan city.
In Gaza city, Israeli shelling injured journalist Saleh Al-Masry and his wife, and destroyed the houses of director of Zaman radio, Rami Al-Sharafi, and journalist Basil Khair Al-Din, working for TV station Al-Quds Today, readsPJS statement.
The moment an Israeli strike hit Palestine tower in Gaza on 7 October was caught on TV as Al Jazeera reporter Youmna Al-Sayed was conducting a live broadcast.
Palestine: At least 152 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza / IFJ
www.ifj.org
[UPDATED 16.01.2025] At least 152 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed, several have been injured and others are missing during the war in Gaza. The International Federation of J…
Al Jazeera in Palestine: A timeline of coverage against all odds
The network has continued to report on the plight of Palestinians, despite intimidation.
www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2025/1/3/a-history-of-al-jazeera-in-palestine
By Shola Lawal
Published On 3 Jan 2025
3 Jan 2025
Al Jazeera Media Network has strongly condemned the Palestinian Authority (PA) ban on its operations in the occupied West Bank this week, calling it an action that “aligns with Israeli occupation practises”.
Since its launch in 1996, Al Jazeera’s reporters have covered the Middle East, from the Arab Spring to Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and the brutal war on Gaza, even when other news organisations pulled their journalists out.
From the start, Al Jazeera has faced attempts to silence its reporting through arrests, imprisonment and attacks on its journalists. And since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, the channel has faced even more attempts to stifle its reporting on Palestine.
Al Jazeera’s determination to provide round-the-clock, firsthand reporting on the horrors in Gaza and the deadly raids in the occupied West Bank has come at a high cost, with at least six Al Jazeera journalists killed in the Palestinian territory since 2022.
The PA’s decision to ban Al Jazeera mirrors Israel’s announcement last year that the channel would be banned in Israel and then its closure of the bureau in Ramallah.
Here’s a breakdown of how Al Jazeera has been targeted by both the PA and Israel:
Israeli soldiers raid, order closure of Al Jazeera office in Ramallah [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]
Israeli soldiers raid and order the closure of the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, September 22, 2024 [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]
When did Al Jazeera start reporting from the West Bank and Gaza?
Al Jazeera has been reporting in Palestine since 2000, marking Al Jazeera Arabic’s first attempt to launch a foreign bureau.
There are Al Jazeera bureaus in Ramallah and occupied East Jerusalem in the West Bank, although both have now been suspended by the Israeli government or the PA.
In 2021, Israeli forces bombed the Gaza bureau.
How many times has the PA shut Al Jazeera down?
The PA controls parts of the occupied West Bank and has suspended Al Jazeera’s operations there three times:
In March 2001, the PA, led at the time by President Yasser Arafat, invaded Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices and prevented staff from accessing the building. No official reasons were provided. However, bureau chief Walid Al-Omari said at the time that a security official had called the bureau and accused the network of airing footage “offensive” to Arafat, demanding that it be removed.
On July 15, 2009, PA security officials stormed Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices and banned its 35 employees from broadcasting. Officials alleged the network had broadcast “false information” because late Palestinian politician Farouk Kaddoumi, in an interview, accused PA President Mahmoud Abbas of involvement in an Israeli plot to kill Arafat. The office was allowed to reopen four days later following an outcry from journalists’ rights groups.
In December 2024, Fatah, the Palestinian party that dominates the PA, banned Al Jazeera from reporting from the governorates of Jenin, Qalqilya and Tubas in the occupied West Bank, citing its coverage of clashes between the Palestinian security forces and Palestinian armed groups. Since mid-December, PA security forces have cracked down on the armed groups in what analysts say is an attempt to endear the PA to the Israelis and the United States. The crackdown has led to the killing of several civilians as well as the West Bank journalist Shatha Sabbagh, 22.
On January 2, 2025, the PA suspended all Al Jazeera broadcasts from the West Bank and placed restrictions on anyone working for the network.
How many times has Israel shut Al Jazeera down?
Israeli authorities have repeatedly attempted to muzzle Al Jazeera. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long accused the network’s coverage of “inciting violence”. The network refutes these claims as “arbitrary and hostile”.
In July 2017, Netanyahu threatened to close Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem office in a Facebook post because the network covered a fallout between Palestinians and Israeli authorities over Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In May 2021, Israel bombed Al Jazeera’s Gaza office. Israeli forces gave Al Jazeera and other media organisations in the same building just one hour to evacuate the tower.
In May 2024, Al Jazeera’s occupied East Jerusalem bureau was raided and closedafter the Israeli parliament passed a law allowing the government to suspend the operations of foreign media that pose a “threat”, for 45 days at a time. The ban, including a ban on Al Jazeera’s website in Israel, has been renewed multiple times and remains in place. Al Jazeera now reports from Amman, Jordan.
In September 2024, heavily armed and masked Israeli security forces raided Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah at 3am and shuttered its operations as the bureau was broadcasting live. Israeli officials alleged that the network supported “terrorism” and ordered operations to be closed for 45 days. Al Jazeera staff were forced to stand on the street and were threatened with a laser weapon during the raid.
Solidarity gathering at Al Jazeera for journalists killed in Gaza
Solidarity gathering at Al Jazeera for journalists killed in Gaza [Al Jazeera]
How many Al Jazeera journalists have been killed or injured in the West Bank and Gaza?
At least six Al Jazeera journalists have been killed by Israeli authorities in the West Bank and Gaza while on duty. In most cases, the journalists were wearing marked press vests or were in clearly marked cars.
Shireen Abu Akleh: Veteran journalist Abu Akleh was shot and killed by a bullet to the head on May 11, 2022, while reporting on an Israeli raid on Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. Despite the fact she was wearing a helmet and a vest clearly marked with “Press”, the bullet from an Israeli sniper penetrated just below her helmet. Israeli forces at first tried to blame “crossfire” from Palestinian fighters but were forced to backtrack when ample video evidence proved no Palestinian fighters were nearby. No action has been taken against the sniper. Israeli forces attacked her funeral procession attended by thousands of Palestinians paying their respects – at one point causing her coffin to slip and nearly hit the ground.
Samer Abudaqa: On December 15, 2023, an Israeli air attack injured Al Jazeera cameraman Abudaqa in Khan Younis, Gaza. Israeli officials prevented emergency vehicles from reaching him despite international pleas as he bled out over several hours.
Wael Dahdouh: Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, whose wife, son, daughter and grandson were killed by Israeli bombs on Gaza, was filming with Abudaqa and was injured in the same attack. On January 7, 2024, Dahdouh’s son, Hamza Dahdouh, who also worked as a journalist for Al Jazeera, was killed in an attack alongside his colleague, Mustafa Thuraya.
Ismail Abu Omar: On February 13, 2024, an Israeli drone hit Abu Omar, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent, and his cameraman, Ahmad Matar, in Rafah, southern Gaza. The two men were critically injured.
Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi: Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent al-Ghoul was reporting with cameraman al-Rifi on July 31, 2024, when an Israeli air raid hit their car in the Shati refugee area of Gaza City. Al-Ghoul had previously been detained and severely beaten by Israeli forces in March 2024 as he covered raids on the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Hossam Shabat: Shabat was injured on November 20, 2024, during a second Israeli raid on a house that had just been hit, and that he was reporting on.
Ahmed al-Louh: Israel killed Al Jazeera Arabic photojournalist al-Louh on December 15, 2024, while he was covering attempts by the Palestinian Civil Defence to rescue an injured family in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. Five others were killed.
Al Jazeera in Palestine: A timeline of coverage against all odds
www.aljazeera.com
The network has continued to report on the plight of Palestinians, despite intimidation.
Israeli strike kills 5 Al-Quds Al-Youm TV journalists in central Gaza
cpj.org/2024/12/israeli-strike-kills-5-al-quds-al-youm-tv-journalists-in-central-gaza/
December 26, 2024 1:38 PM EST
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Beirut, December 26, 2024—Israeli forces killed five journalists and media workers with Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, a channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group, in a Thursday strike on their vehicleoutside Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Associated Press reported that footage showed the van had visible press markings.
“CPJ denounces Israel’s killing of five journalists working for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director in New York. “The Israeli strike on their vehicle, which was clearly marked ‘Press,’ means that at least nine Gazan journalists have been killed in less than two weeks. The international community must act now to protect Palestinian journalists in Gaza and end Israel’s impunity for these killings.”
The five journalists killed on December 26 have been identified as:
Correspondent Faisal Abu Al Qumsan
Camera operator Ayman Al Gedi
Photographer and editor Fadi Hassouna
Editor Mohammed Al-Ladaa
Producer and fixer Ibrahim Sheikh Ali
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson posted on social media platform X that those killed on December 26 were militants posing as journalists.
CPJ’s email to the IDF’s North America Media desk asking whether the journalists were targeted for their work or whether there was any evidence that they were militants did not receive an immediate response.
Earlier in December, Israeli forces killed four journalists in separate strikes on December 14 and 15.
cpj.org
Beirut, December 26, 2024—Israeli forces killed five journalists and media workers with Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, a channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group, in a Thursday strike on their …
Israel hits broadcast van killing five Palestinian journalists in Gaza
www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/26/five-journalists-killed-in-israeli-strike-near-gaza-hospital#ix… from Al-Quds Today were covering events at al-Awda Hospital when their clearly marked press vehicle was struck, according to reports. from Al-Quds Today were covering events at al-Awda Hospital when their clearly marked press vehicle was struck, according to reports.Press vests on the ground as Palestinian Journalists in Gaza protest the targeting of press and Al Jazeera colleagues..jpegPress vests were removed as part of a protest against Israel's targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza [Al Jazeera]Published On 26 Dec 202426 Dec 2024Israel has targeted a broadcast van close to a hospital in central Gaza, killing at least five journalists, according to Palestinian authorities and media reports.The journalists from the al-Quds Today channel were covering events near al-Awda Hospital, located in the Nuseirat refugee camp, when their broadcasting van was hit by an Israeli air strike, Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif reported early on Thursday morning.INTERACTIVE-GAZA-Five journalists killed in Israeli strike-DEC26-2024-1735198406(Al Jazeera)Footage from the scene circulating on social media shows a vehicle engulfed in flames.A screenshot taken from a video of the white-coloured van shows the word “press” in large red lettering across the back of the vehicle.end of listKEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Protests in Syria after ‘old’ video shows attack on Alawite shrine list 2 of 4Jailbreak amid Mozambique protests sees 1,500 prisoners escape, 33 killed list 3 of 4Biden, Trump send different Christmas messages in US list 4 of 4As 20 years pass since world’s worst tsunami, experts warn of complacency The deceased journalists have been named as Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan and Ayman al-Jadi.Al Jazeera’s al-Sharif said that Ayman al-Jadi had been waiting for his wife in front of the hospital while she was in labour to give birth to their first child.
tCivil defence teams retrieved the bodies of the victims and extinguished a fire at the scene, the Quds News Network said.Israel’s military said it had carried out a “targeted” attack against a vehicle carrying members of Islamic Jihad and that it would continue to take action against “terrorist organisations” in Gaza.“Prior to the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial observations, and additional intelligence information,” the military said in a post on X.Israel, which has not allowed foreign journalists to enter the Gaza Strip except on military embeds, has been condemned by several press freedom organisations, which now rate the Strip as the most dangerous part of the world for reporting.Earlier this month, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said more than 145 journalists had been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023, condemning the high death toll as an “unprecedented massacre”.The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said this month that at least 141 journalists have been killed in Gaza, calling on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its attacks against the media.CPJ said on Thursday that it was “devastated” by reports of the five journalists killed inside their broadcasting vehicle. “Journalists are civilians and must always be protected,” it said on X.The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate last week reported a higher death toll, stating that more than 190 journalists had been killed and at least 400 injured since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.AdvertisementThe syndicate condemned the “heinous attack” and called for “international protection” for journalists in Gaza.Israel also banned Al Jazeera from its territory and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.The network vehemently condemned the “unfounded allegations” and said Israel had used “fabricated accusations … to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences
Five Gaza journalists killed in Israeli strike targeting armed group
www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yg57wrgl7o
Raffi Berg & Emir Nader
In London & Jerusalem
Reuters Gaza's civil defence members tackle a fire in a van with "Press" written on the back door following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp (26/12/24)Reuters
The vehicle, which had "press" markings, was parked at a hospital when it was hit
A Palestinian TV channel says five of its journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip.
They were in a Quds Today van parked outside al-Awda hospital, where the wife of one of the journalists was about to give birth, in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
The channel posted a video of what it said was the burning vehicle with "press" signage on the back doors.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted "Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists" and that steps were taken to avoid harming civilians.
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The BBC has not been able to verify claims made by either side, with international media being prevented by Israel from entering and freely working on the ground in Gaza.
Quds Today is affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an armed group that took part in the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. The unprecedented attack triggered the war in Gaza. The TV channel is believed to receive funding from the group.
In a separate development, the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital on the northern edge of Gaza said on Thursday about 50 people, including five of its staff, had been killed in an Israeli strike on a building by the hospital. A paediatrician and two paramedics were among them.
The IDF said it was "unaware of strikes" in the hospital area, adding that it was looking into claims that five doctors had been killed.
"The number of casualties reported in the media does not align with the information held by the IDF," it said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was "devastated by the reports" of five journalists being killed in the central Gaza Strip.
"Journalists are civilians and must always be protected," it said.
The Israeli military named the five killed as Ibrahim Jamal Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali; Faisal Abdallah Muhammad Abu Qamsan; Mohammed Ayad Khamis al-Ladaa; Ayman Nihad Abd Alrahman Jadi; and Fadi Ihab Muhammad Ramadan Hassouna.
It said "intelligence from multiple sources confirmed" that all were PIJ operatives, and that a list found during an operation in Gaza "explicitly identified four" of them as such.
In a statement, Quds Today said the men "were killed as they carried out their media and humanitarian duty".
As of 20 December, at least 133 Palestinian journalists have been killed during the course of the war, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists, according to the CPJ.
The press freedom organisation has called for accountability for Palestinian journalists who have been directly targeted by the Israeli military.
At least another five people were also reported killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City on Wednesday.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency, and the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, also said a further 20 people were injured in the city's al-Zeitoun neighbourhood.
The Israeli military has not commented on the reported bombing.
Meanwhile, the father of a two-week-old Palestinian girl has told the BBC how his baby daughter froze to death in a tent in Gaza – the third child in a week to die in similar conditions.
Mahmoud Ismail Al-Faseeh said he woke up in the severe cold to find his daughter, Sila, suffering convulsions. She was rushed to hospital but died from hypothermia, the head of paediatrics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis told the Associated Press news agency.
The family was sheltering in al-Mawasi area on Gaza's coast, a strip of land designated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a humanitarian zone but which has been hit by air strikes.
Ahmed al-Farra, the head of paediatrics, said two other babies – one three days old and the other a month old – had been brought in over the past 48 hours after dying from hypothermia.
Hopes of progress towards a ceasefire in recent days have begun to recede, with Hamas and Israel blaming each other.
Hamas accused the Israeli government of imposing "new conditions" that it said were delaying the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the group was reneging on understandings that had already been reached about a possible ceasefire.
The latest statements mark a notable change of tone on both sides following optimistic signals.
The Israeli military launched air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to last year's Hamas attack. About 1,200 people were killed in the attack and another 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, Gaza's health ministry says. Almost two million people – 90% of the population – have been displaced, according to the UN.
Additional reporting by Jaroslav Lukiv.
Five Gaza journalists killed in Israeli strike targeting armed group
www.bbc.com
A Palestinian TV channel says they were in a marked media van in the central Gaza Strip.
104 journalists killed this year, according to the IFJ
www.ifj.org//media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/104-journalists-killed-this…
According to the annual report of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 2024 was another particularly deadly year for journalists and media professionals. As of 10 December 2024, 104 journalists had been killed worldwide, more than half of them in Gaza, Palestine (55). The IFJ reaffirms its determination to see an International Convention for the Protection of Journalists adopted by the United Nations as a matter of urgency.
Credit: IFJ.
To mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has published the initial findings of its 2024 annual report on journalists and media workers killed in the line of duty. According to the latest data, which is still incomplete, 104 media professionals have been killed since 1 January, including 12 women, representing 11.5% of the Federation's total.
By 2023, the IFJ had documented 129 deaths, including 14 women, one of the deadliest years for journalists since the IFJ began publishing its list of journalists killed in 1990.
MIDDLE EAST AND ARAB WORLD: 66
For the second year running, it is the Middle East and Arab World region that holds the macabre record for the number of journalists killed: 66 deaths in 2024.
The war in Gaza and Lebanon once again highlights the massacre suffered by Palestinian (55), Lebanese (6) and Syrian (1) media professionals, representing 60% of all journalists killed in 2024. Since the start of the war on 7 October 2023, the number of Palestinian journalists killed has risen to at least 138, making this country one of the most dangerous in the history of modern journalism, behind Iraq, the Philippines and Mexico.
On 13 October 2023, the IFJ called on Unesco to protect journalists, establish a lasting ceasefire, open humanitarian corridors for civilians, and allow Gaza journalists to take refuge outside the enclave and foreign reporters to enter the enclave. All to no avail.
Elsewhere in the region, the Federation counts three media professionals murdered in Iraq this year, including two women on 23 August, and a photographer killed in Syria on 4 December.
ASIA-PACIFIC: 20
In Asia-Pacific, the IFJ's largest geographical region, the number of deaths in 2024 (20) was considerably higher than in 2023 (12) and 2022 (16), with an upsurge in violence in South Asia: the IFJ deplores 6 murders in Pakistan, 5 in Bangladesh and 3 in India, i.e. 70% of all deaths in the region. In addition, the military regime in Myanmar is continuing its hunt for journalists – 3 journalists have been killed this year – while Indonesia and Kazakhstan have each had one death.
AFRICA: 8
8 journalists were murdered in Africa in 2024 – 4 in 2022 and 9 in 2023 – but it was Sudan that paid the heaviest price with 5 deaths, as a result of the generals' war, which is particularly deadly. Two Somali journalists and a Chadian journalist also lost their lives, which also testifies to the fragile and violent political situations in these two countries.
AMERICAS: 6
Before the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Latin America, and Mexico in particular, was one of the most dangerous regions in the world for media professionals.
In 2024, the IFJ counts 6 deaths – compared to 30 in 2022 and 6 in 2023 – including five Mexicans and one Colombian. Once again, threats, intimidation, kidnappings and murders are due to reports on drug trafficking, which has plagued Mexico for more than two decades.
EUROPE : 4
The war in Ukraine has again claimed victims on the continent, with 4 journalists killed in 2024, compared with 13 in 2022 and 4 in 2023. Despite this conflict, Europe remains the safest continent in the world.
JOURNALISTS IN PRISON: 520
On 10 December 2024, the IFJ counted 520 journalists in prison, representing a sharp increase compared with 2023 (427) and 2022 (375).
With 135 journalists behind bars, China – including Hong Kong – remains the world's biggest prison for media professionals, ahead of Israel (59 Palestinian journalists) and Myanmar (44).
The Asia-Pacific region alone has 254 journalists in prison, ahead of wider Europe (142), the Middle East and Arab world (101), Africa (17) and Latin America (6).
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "These sad figures show once again how fragile is press freedom and how risky and dangerous is the profession of journalism. The public's need for information is very real at a time when authoritarian regimes are developing all over the world. Greater vigilance on the part of our profession is required. We urge the Member States of the United Nations to take action to ensure the adoption of a binding convention on the safety of journalists, so as to put an end to the deaths and injuries that occur every year".
Download the list of journalists and media workers killed in 2024.
Download the list of jailed journalists and media workers in 2024.
For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries
Follow the IFJ on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
104 journalists killed this year, according to the IFJ / IFJ
www.ifj.org
According to the annual report of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 2024 was another particularly deadly year for journalists and media professionals. As of 10 December 2024, 104 jour…
H.R. 9495 legislation also threatens our union itself, because unions are also nonprofits.
TELL CONGRESS: DEFEND NONPROFIT WORKERS
newsguild.org/tell-congress-defend-nonprofit-workers/
Posted on November 20, 2024Author The NewsGuild-CWA
This week the U.S. House is voting on H.R. 9495, a bill which includes a provision that would disempower nonprofits and pose a threat to critical organizations supporting communities nationwide. We urge Members of Congress to vote NO on H.R. 9495 given the inclusion of this provision.
This legislation threatens nonprofit workers at ProPublica, the Texas Tribune, Spotlight PA, American Civil Liberties Union affiliates, the Natural Resource Defense Council, Southern Poverty Law Center and more who are members of The NewsGuild-CWA.
And the legislation also threatens our union itself, because unions are also nonprofits.
Section 4 of the bill is particularly concerning. Titled “Termination of tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations,” this provision would give the Treasury Secretary near-unilateral power to strip the nonprofit status of any organization considered to be providing “material support or resources” to a terrorist organization. Such unilateral power could easily be abused by any future administration to target political opponents, shut down newsrooms and silence freedom of speech and affiliation in the United States.
It was narrowly defeated in an earlier vote on November 12 because it failed to clear a two-thirds majority vote in the House. House Republicans reintroduced the bill in a second attempt to pass it and changed the rules so only a simple majority is needed to pass it and move it to the Senate.
I’m asking you to contact your U.S. Representative TODAY and ask them to vote NO on H.R. 9495 and preserve our free speech and the free press.
SEND YOUR LETTER TO CONGRESS
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TELL CONGRESS: DEFEND NONPROFIT WORKERS | The NewsGuild – TNG-CWA
newsguild.org
I’m asking you to contact your U.S. Representative TODAY and ask them to vote NO on H.R. 9495 and preserve our free speech and the free press.
The AI Reporter That Took My Old Job Just Got Fired
www.wired.com/story/the-ai-reporter-who-took-my-old-job-just-got-fired/
GUTHRIE SCRIMGEOUR
NOV 21, 2024 5:00 AMBUSINESS
A local newspaper in Hawaii experimented with AI-generated presenters to engage and boost its readership. After two months, the bots have been shelved.
A reporter holding a mic
James and Rose, the bizarre AI bots who were recently installed as news broadcasters at local Hawaii paper The Garden Island, have been terminated.
Employee retention is always a bit of a problem at local newspapers, and The Garden Island newspaper on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is no exception. Many reporters—usually mainland transplants like myself—would stick around for just a couple years before moving on, and some only lasted months.ADVERTISEMENT
WIRED’s resident AI expert Will Knight takes you to the cutting edge of this fast-changing field and beyond—keeping you informed about where AI and technology are headed. Delivered on Wednesdays.
After a two-month run, James and Rose have joined our ranks, as their broadcast has been discontinued, according to a representative for The Garden Island’s parent company, Oahu Publications (OPI). The pair were designed by Caledo, an Israeli firm that turns articles into videos where AI hosts discuss the news with one another. The Garden Island’s program was the first of its kind in the United States, and Caledo said at the time that it intended to expand it to hundreds of other local newspapers throughout the country—this is still the aim, according to a spokesperson.
While OPI declined to comment further, and Caledo declared the program a success without elaborating on this particular scenario, it seems likely that a broadly negative public response played into the decision to end James and Rose’s tenure at The Garden Island.
James, a middle-aged Asian man, and Rose, a younger redhead, were never able to figure out how to present the news in a manner that wasn’t deeply off-putting for viewers. Their program, which ran twice a week on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram, covered topics as varied as a fall pumpkin giveaway and a vigil for a labor massacre—all in the same distant, matter-of-fact tone of beings incapable of comprehending human emotions.
In one particularly stilted exchange about the pumpkin giveaway, Rose asked James, “And how have these free pumpkins impacted the community?” to which James responded, “The free pumpkins have brought joy to many.”
They consistently butchered difficult Hawaiian names and even had surprising struggles with much simpler words. In their final broadcast on November 4, while discussing an air rifle championship, Rose inexplicably replaced the word “rifle” with the word “referee.”
In the polarized months leading up to the election, the pair managed to inspire visceral, bipartisan contempt. Comments under the videos were nearly universally negative.
“This is scary,” reads one Facebook comment from The Maui News, another local Hawaii paper. The nonprofit Hawaii journalism outlet Honolulu Civil Beat used them as a fundraising hook. “You no longer have to imagine a world where local news and information is generated by an algorithm,” wrote Ben Nishimoto, Civil Beat’s vice president of operations and philanthropy, in a September email, referring to the broadcast. “That dystopia is here. And it’s terrifying.”
I never like to root against fellow reporters, but I’ll admit I was also happy to see them go. While James and Rose did not actively supplant any existing newsroom jobs, I was concerned that the effort diverted resources that could be used on traditional media expenses, like human reporters, photographers, and editors.
The Garden Island was severely underresourced—for much of my time working there, I was one of only two reporters covering an island of 73,000. The paper was purchased earlier this year by the conglomerate Carpenter Media Group, which controls more than 100 local outlets throughout North America.
Caledo, while declining to disclose how much it was paid, said that new ads embedded in the broadcasts would offset the cost of the program. However, it does not appear as though OPI was able to sell a single ad on the videos.
James and Rose began every broadcast by announcing that the program was sponsored by Longs Drugs, a Hawaii local subsidiary of CVS. But Longs Drugs reported that it had a preexisting sponsorship agreement with OPI and that it had not been notified its logo would be used in the AI videos. “We have since asked that they run all Longs logo usage by us moving forward,” Amy Thibault, a CVS spokesperson, says. No other embedded advertisements appeared on the broadcasts.
Over its run, the tech did see some minor improvements. James began his tenure as lead anchor, at which point he was unable to blink and his hands were constantly vibrating. He was demoted to second anchor in mid-October, where he began blinking more regularly and his odd hand vibration was replaced by a single emphatic gesture.
But this proved to be too little too late. I wish James and Rose the best of luck in their future endeavors—it’s a tough job market out there.
The AI Reporter That Took My Old Job Just Got Fired
www.wired.com
A local newspaper in Hawaii experimented with AI-generated presenters to engage and boost its readership. After two months, the bots have been shelved.