New York, April 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns in the strongest terms the killing of at least three journalists in Lebanon and Gaza by Israel in one day, at least one of which was in a targeted attack. This pattern of attacks underscores a worsening climate of impunity and a blatant disregard for international law. Deliberate, indiscriminate, or disproportionate attacks on journalists — civilians under international humanitarian law — are apparent war crimes and warrant investigation.
Israel carried out deadly strikes in both Gaza and Lebanon on Wednesday, killing journalists Mohammed Samir Washah, Ghada Dayekh, and Suzan Khalil in a sharp escalation of attacks on the press.
Washah, a correspondent for Qatari-based Al Jazeera Mubasher, was killed when his car was targeted by an Israeli drone attack in Gaza City. In Lebanon, separate Israeli strikes killed Dayekh, a presenter with Sawt Al-Farah, and Khalil, a reporter and presenter on Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio. These killings come amid intensified Israeli bombardment across Lebanon, hours after a ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the United States, including more than 100 strikes launched within minutes despite ceasefire announcements.
Today’s deaths are part of a staggering and sustained toll. As CPJ has documented, the Gaza war is already the deadliest for journalists ever recorded, with today’s killing bringing that total to at least 260 journalists killed since its start in 2023. Since the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28, 2026, additional journalists have been killed in Lebanon and across the region, bringing the toll in Lebanon alone to at least seven in recent weeks.
“Journalists are being killed at a pace and scale that should shock the conscience of the world. These are not isolated tragedies; they reflect a systematic failure to uphold the most basic protections owed to civilian journalists under international law,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah “CPJ has consistently warned that without accountability, these attacks will continue to escalate, emboldening those who seek to silence independent reporting through violence.”
CPJ calls for urgent international action to ensure the protection of journalists and to halt ongoing attacks on the press. CPJ restates its call for international authorities to ensure that all cases of targeted killings of the press are independently and impartially investigated as war crimes, given Israel’s longstanding unwillingness to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by its military. The perpetrators — from the individuals in the Israel Defense Forces units to the highest level of the command chain — must be held to account.
The killing of journalists in Gaza and Lebanon today is not incidental — it is part of a broader assault on press freedom. The international community must act now to stop it.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.