INSI's annual report on media casualties has been released. Download it here.

The aberrant and the abhorrent became the norm in 2024, compelling us to face the ugly reality that media freedom, justice and the sanctity of civilian life have been eroded, even in ostensibly democratic societies.

The death toll among journalists in Gaza was staggering, almost incomprehensible. Data compiled for Killing the Messenger by the Cardiff School of Journalism showed that 81 of the 145 journalists who died around the world were from Gaza.

To get a real sense of scale, in a country the size of Britain, this would equate to over 2,500 journalist deaths in a year.

Along with our colleagues in the media freedom and safety sphere we raised our voices throughout the year about the depth of these injustices and the magnitude of their impact, not only on the vic- tims and their families but on society at large.

Journalists are vital witnesses to war crimes and atrocities, meaning silencing them is an attack on truth itself. Without them, violence and injustice can more easily be perpetrated on us all, a message that has failed to resonate with Western governments. Their deafening silence in the face of Israel’s relentless killing and targeting of media workers has shattered moral thresholds and marked a point of no return.

But it will not prevent us from mourning and celebrating our colleagues, whose selfless commitment to report the facts is an inspiration to us all.

We have named every single one of our colleagues who was killed in 2024, not only from Gaza but also from Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico, Ukraine, Colombia, Myanmar, Iraq, India, DRC, Haiti, Honduras, Cambodia, Chad, Indonesia, Russia, and Somalia.

This year’s report also features a series of moving portraits of journalists created by the artist and illustrator Gianluca Costantini, whose portraiture of those killed in Gaza is here accompanied by journalists killed across continents.

– Elena Cosentino, INSI Director

Download Killing the Messenger now

Know their faces. Know their names. 

Image credit: Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP
Illustration credit: Gianluca Costantini