Ramallah— The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) revealed that 31 female journalists, along with dozens of female media activists, have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s assault on October 7, 2023, up to early September 2025. The Syndicate stressed that most of the martyrs were killed inside their homes along with family members in crimes that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In a report issued by the Freedoms Committee, the Syndicate indicated that the Israeli occupation deliberately targets Palestinian women journalists—particularly those working in digital media and international outlets such as Anadolu, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Associated Press, and Russia Today—in order to silence the Palestinian female voice and erase documented facts on the ground.

The Committee added that this systematic targeting creates an irreparable void in Palestinian female human capital in the media sector, specifically targeting the younger generation of female journalists in their twenties and thirties. The policy, it noted, also aims to intimidate both local and international media circles, transforming the journalist from a “witness to the crime” into a “victim within the crime” along with her family.

The Syndicate further reported that in most documented cases, the occupation deliberately killed female journalists while bombing their homes. Six female journalists, however, were killed while performing field reporting duties. These crimes, the Syndicate emphasized, deliberately attack family and societal dimensions, as well as alternative digital media through which female journalists expose violations and crimes on the ground.

The Martyred Female Journalists

2023 (10 journalists)

• Salam Meimeh – 10/10/2023: Journalist at Radio Sawt Al-Quds and Head of the Women Journalists Committee at the Media Forum. Killed in Jabalia along with her husband and three children.
• Salma Mkhaimer – 25/10/2023: Freelance journalist and graduate of the Islamic University. Killed in Rafah with her infant child, parents, and siblings.
• Doaa Sharaf – 26/10/2023: Anchor at Al-Aqsa Radio. Killed in Gaza with her toddler son, Ubaida (1.5 years).
• Ayat Khodoura – 20/11/2023: Independent journalist and podcast creator. Killed in Beit Lahia with her grandmother and three siblings.
• Amal Zuhd – 23/11/2023: Freelance photographer. Killed with her family in Gaza.
• Ola Atallah – 9/12/2023: Anadolu Agency correspondent. Killed in Gaza in her uncle’s house along with her brother, his wife, and her cousins.
• Nermin Qawas – 11/12/2023: Trainee at Russia Today. Killed with her husband and children.
• Hanan Ayad – 13/12/2023: Freelance journalist. Killed with her husband and children.
• Haneen Al-Qashtan – 17/12/2023: Former anchor at Sawt Al-Watan and Al-Kofiya. Killed in Nuseirat with relatives.
• Nermin Nasr Haboush – 30/12/2023: Media coordinator at Pyalara. Killed with her mother and infant daughter.

2024 (12 journalists)

• Heba Al-Abadleh – 9/1/2024: Anchor at Al-Azhar Radio. Killed with her daughter in Khan Younis.
• Alaa Al-Hums – 12/2/2024: Journalist and presenter. Succumbed to wounds sustained in Rafah, where she lost 10 relatives and her unborn child.
• Alaa Al-Dahdouh – 1/6/2024: Editor and anchor at Sawt Al-Watan Radio. Killed in Gaza with family members.
• Dina Al-Batniji – 9/6/2024: Journalist at Al-Thuraya Media. Killed in Nuseirat.
• Ahlam Al-Ajlah – 9/6/2024: Correspondent for Family Happiness Magazine. Killed in Nuseirat.
• Wafaa Abu Dhibaan – 6/7/2024: Anchor at the Islamic University Radio. Killed along with her husband, journalist Amjad Jahjouh.
• Doaa Al-Jabour – 12/8/2024: Journalist at Oyoun News Network. Killed with her husband and children.
• Angham Adwan – 2/9/2024: Journalist formerly with Libya’s February Channel. Killed in an airstrike on her family home.
• Haneen Baroud – 27/10/2024: Journalist at Al-Quds Foundation. Killed in an airstrike on “Asmaa School” in Al-Shati.
• Nadia Al-Sayyed – 27/10/2024: Presenter at Amwaj TV. Killed in the same school bombing.
• Zahra Abu Sekheil – 11/11/2024: Correspondent for News Media Network. Killed with her brother, journalist Ahmad Abu Sekheil, in an airstrike on Fahaad Al-Sabah School in Gaza.
• Iman Al-Shanti – 11/12/2024: Presenter at Al-Aqsa Radio. Killed in Sheikh Radwan with her husband and children.

2025 (9 journalists)

• Alaa Qassem – 14/3/2025: Journalist at Al-Resalah newspaper. Killed in Gaza.
• Fatima Hassouna – 16/4/2025: Freelance photojournalist. Killed in Al-Tuffah neighborhood.
• Noor Qandil – 18/5/2025: Journalist at Al-Thuraya Foundation. Killed with her husband and two children.
• Islam Muqdad – 4/6/2025: Killed with her child in Khan Younis.
• Hanan Aqilan – 25/6/2025: Journalist at Gaza Municipality’s Prosthetics Center. Killed in Al-Shati.
• Walaa Al-Jaabari – 23/7/2025: Journalist at the Ministry of Labor. Killed in Tel Al-Hawa with her husband and four children.
• Marwa Muslim – 1/8/2025: Presenter at Sawt Al-Shabab Radio. Killed with her sister in Shuja’iya.
• Maryam Abu Duqqa – 25/8/2025: Photographer for Associated Press and Independent Arabia. Killed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
• Islam Abed – 31/8/2025: Correspondent for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV. Killed with her husband and children in Gaza.

Female Media Activists & University Students

• Iman Al-Oqeili – 24/10/2023: Activist and content creator of “ImanTube.” Killed in Gaza.
• Shaima Al-Jazzar – 4/12/2023: Media activist at “Majidat Rafah.” Killed with her family in Rafah.
• Wafaa Al-Odeini – 30/9/2024: Activist at Day of Palestine Foundation. Killed with her husband and children in Deir Al-Balah.
• Areej Shaheen – 1/1/2025: Media activist. Killed with her mother in Nuseirat.
• Ahlam Al-Tallouli – 13/3/2025: Media activist. Killed in Gaza.
• Iman Al-Zami – 1/9/2025: Media activist. Shot dead by a drone near Hamad Towers.
• Somaya Abdel-Fattah Abed Rabbo – 28/8/2025: Media student and activist. Killed in Gaza.

Time distribution:

• 2023: 10 journalists killed
• 2024: 12 journalists killed
• 2025 (until early September): 9 journalists killed
  Indicator: targeting has been steady for 3 years—not incidental.

Family targeting:

• Over 85% killed with family members (husbands, children, parents).
  Indicator: deliberate dual family targeting, amounting to genocide.

Media outlets targeted:

• Local: Sawt Al-Quds, Al-Aqsa Radio, Sawt Al-Watan, Al-Azhar Radio.
• International: Anadolu, Russia Today, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Associated Press, Independent Arabia.
  Indicator: targeting extended beyond local media to include regional and international institutions—proving a goal of global media blackout.

Age group:

• Most victims aged 20–35.
  Indicator: deliberate targeting of young generations representing the professional future of Palestinian media.

• Silencing Palestinian female professionalism: Women journalists played a crucial role covering women, children, the wounded, and displaced. Their assassination erases the humanitarian dimension of Israeli crimes.
• Intimidating the media community: Killing women journalists working for major international outlets sends a deterrent message: “Reporting truth equals death.”
• Destroying female media capacity: Most were academically trained in journalism, media, Arabic, or digital communications. Indicator: destruction of female human capital in Palestinian journalism, leaving an irreplaceable gap.
• Targeting family and community dimensions: Most killed alongside their children, spouses, and parents. Implication: turning journalists from “witnesses to crimes” into “victims within crimes.”
• Erasing digital documentation: Many victims were active on social media and blogs (e.g., Ayat Khodoura, Iman Al-Oqeili, Fatima Hassouna). Indicator: recognition of the power of alternative digital media in exposing crimes—hence targeting its voices.

Locally & Professionally:

• Provide protective gear (helmets, vests, clear press markings) especially for field reporters, with support from IFJ and donors.
• Train female journalists in field safety, first aid, and emergency response.
• Activate an early-warning network on risks and military movements in hotspots.
• Establish an emergency union unit to monitor female journalists’ situations and intervene during injuries or arrests.
• Offer psychological and social support for survivors of targeting or detention.

Legally & Rights-wise:

• Professionally document all crimes with evidence (photos, videos, testimonies).
• File official complaints to international bodies (UN, ICC, Human Rights Council).
• Assign volunteer lawyers to follow up on arrests or prosecutions.
• Prepare periodic reports on violations against women journalists for global women’s and press organizations.

Internationally & Media-wise:

• Launch global campaigns highlighting female journalist targeting as a compounded crime affecting press freedom and women’s rights.
• Build local and international partnerships with journalist unions to pressure and hold Israel accountable.
• Strengthen ties with parliaments and diplomatic missions to expose violations.
• Establish an annual international award in the name of Palestinian women journalist martyrs to promote awareness and solidarity.

Socially:

• Foster community-based protection to provide safe working environments for women journalists.
• Develop support programs for families of martyred, injured, or detained journalists.

Mohammad Al-Lahham, head of the Freedoms Committee at PJS, stated that the targeting of Palestinian female journalists is systematic policy, not incidental loss. He stressed that Israel deliberately assassinates the female voice in Palestinian media due to its powerful local and international impact.

He added that the figures (31 journalists + 7 activists) reveal an unprecedented escalation not only in the history of violations against Palestinian women journalists but also in the history of wars and conflicts worldwide since the dawn of humanity.

Al-Lahham concluded that these crimes constitute a clear violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, which protect journalists and civilians during armed conflicts.

https://pjs.ps/en/page-3407.html

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate holds a rally in Ramallah condemning the massacre targeting journalists at Al-Shifa Hospital

2025-08-11

Ramallah – The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate organized a protest condemning the Israeli occupation’s assassination of six journalists in Gaza last night: Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqa, Ibrahim Dhaher, Moamen Al-Aweiwa, Mohammed Noufal, and Mohammed Al-Khaldi.

With the martyrdom of these six colleagues, the total number of journalists killed since the start of the genocide war has risen to 238 journalists and media workers.

In his speech at the rally, Nasser Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, stressed that targeting journalists and media institutions is a war crime aimed at silencing the truth and covering up the occupation’s crimes.

He held the occupying state and its allies fully responsible, calling on international press institutions to take urgent action to protect Palestinian journalists, hold the occupation’s leaders accountable, and ensure they do not escape punishment.