The Committee to Protect Journalists announced it will conduct a review of its database of members of the media killed during the Israel-Hamas war, after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad published obituaries that identified individuals CPJ listed as journalists as members of the terrorist groups.

“CPJ has always been clear that we do not include anyone in our data sets if there is evidence that they were engaging in combat or inciting imminent violence,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “This is consistent with international humanitarian law, which considers journalists affiliated with non-state actors to be civilians, provided they do not directly participate in hostilities.”

CPJ, which has faced criticism for an alleged anti-Israel bias, said it recently removed eight individuals from its “killed” database after confirming they were Hamas or PIJ members. Another 12 names were removed for unrelated reasons. All 20 of these individuals were previously documented on CPJ’s Journalist casualties page.

Currently, CPJ — which said it uses at least two independent sources of information to identify someone as a journalist — claims 209 journalists or members of the media were killed by Israel amid its war in Gaza. In cases where the Israel Defense Forces is accused of killing a Palestinian, CPJ said it asks Israel for further information.  

Jewish Insider reported in 2024 that one-third of the Palestinian journalists listed by CPJ as being killed in the war in Gaza were employed by terrorist groups. Out of 100 Palestinian journalists on the list, 33 worked for “Hamas-affiliated” media, such as Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, Al-Quds Al-Youm, Quds News Network and others. Another two worked for Palestinian Islamic Jihad outlets Kan’an and Mithaq Media Foundation. 

During the Israel-Hamas war, CPJ said Israel was “engaging in the deadliest and most deliberate effort to kill and silence journalists that CPJ has ever documented.” 

CPJ said the review is expected to be completed in July.