The Committee to Protect Journalists has published the results of a comprehensive review of its database of journalists and media workers killed in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October 2023. CPJ says new information led it to remove 22 people from the database, reinstate six and reclassify 12.
CPJ’s updated casualty page provides an important breakdown of the 22 removals: 19 people were removed after new research established that they had engaged in combat, while three were removed after CPJ concluded they were not journalists or media workers. That means it is inaccurate to describe all 22 as “terrorists” or armed group members.
The review followed Hamas and PIJ obituaries
CPJ announced the full review in June 2026 after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad published obituaries identifying as combatants some people who had appeared in CPJ’s journalist database. At the time, CPJ said it had already removed eight names because they were established to have been Hamas or PIJ combatants and a further 12 for other reasons.
It is important not to automatically add the June figure of 20 to the September figure of 22 and report that 42 separate people were removed. The September release is the result of the broader review announced in June, and CPJ’s current page presents the final correction categories. Without a name-by-name historical comparison, simply adding the two figures risks double counting.
What CPJ reviewed
The organization says researchers examined 229 deaths covering October 2023 through August 2026. They reviewed published work, social media material, photographs, videos and statements concerning the deceased. When new evidence emerged, CPJ researchers sought to speak with at least two additional sources who knew the person; CPJ says it was able to do so in 220 of the 229 cases.
CPJ then commissioned an external auditor to assess the review process. According to the organization, the audit found that CPJ followed its established methodology in cases that were removed or reinstated. CPJ says the review did not create a new definition of journalist; it reapplied existing criteria in light of new information.
What counts as “engagement in combat”
CPJ says it has a longstanding policy of excluding anyone found to be engaged in combat. At the same time, working for a media outlet affiliated with a political or armed organization does not automatically amount to participation in hostilities. That distinction is particularly important in Gaza, where professional media work, organizational affiliation and military activity can be separate questions.
CPJ’s current page explicitly lists 19 names under removals for “engagement in combat” and three under removals because they were not journalists or media workers.
What the correction proves, and what it does not
The revision shows that casualty databases are not static and that CPJ changed classifications when it obtained new information. It also establishes that some people initially counted as journalists were later removed after evidence of combat activity emerged.
But removal from CPJ’s database is not, by itself, a legal determination that the strike in which a person was killed was lawful. Whether someone performed journalistic work, whether that person participated in hostilities and whether a specific military attack complied with the laws of war are separate questions.
As of CPJ’s September 25 update, the organization listed 189 Palestinians killed in Gaza and two Palestinians killed in Israeli detention centers among journalists and media workers it says were killed by Israel. Those totals can change again as new evidence is reviewed.
