Investigating the journalists killed in Gaza — gathering verified counts and affiliation evidence now.
A majority claim has been made but is disputed and depends on definition and source:
One widely cited figure comes from the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center - described as linked to Israeli military intelligence.
•The institute published a 140-page study examining, name by name, Palestinians identified as journalists or media workers killed in Gaza, and concluded that roughly 60% were members of or affiliated with terrorist organizations — primarily Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
•The study examined 266 media workers reported killed between Oct. 7, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2025, and found that 157 were members of or affiliated with terror groups. At least 47 belonged to Hamas's military wing and 45 were linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including 18 confirmed operatives.
•A summary of that analysis described it as reviewing a list of 266 people described as journalists or media workers killed in Gaza and concluded at least 157 were members of terror groups, including 104 tied to Hamas and 45 to Islamic Jihad.
A second pro-Israel media watchdog audit reached a similar majority conclusion using a broader definition of "ties":
•An HonestReporting audit found that 120 of the 209 Gazan media workers, or 57 percent, had terrorist ties.
•After the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) review, a preliminary audit found of the 191 Gazan journalists on CPJ's list, 102 were found to have connections to terrorist groups.
•The updated list was described as still having 53 percent of those still listed have terrorist ties.
•That audit counted as "ties" 25 with martyr posters issued by terrorist organizations, 18 identified by the IDF as terrorists, 13 identified as combatants through eulogies and other open-source information, and 61 who worked for media outlets affiliated with or controlled by terrorist organizations.
Other counts find a minority:
•The Committee to Protect Journalists, the New York-based watchdog that is the most cited source for the toll, said it has removed eight names from its database because they were later established to have been Hamas or PIJ combatants. A further 12 individuals were removed for other reasons. As of June 25, 2026 that total stood at 209.
•In its September 2026 review, CPJ said 19 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire who it had previously identified as journalists or media workers were actually militants or participants in combat. After a review of its tally, it says Israeli forces have killed 191 Palestinian journalists and media workers since the start of the war in Gaza.
•CPJ states it does not include anyone if there is evidence they were engaging in combat or inciting imminent violence, but considers journalists affiliated with non-state actors to be civilians, provided they do not directly participate in hostilities, and that it condemns misrepresentation of combatants as journalists.
•A Telegraph investigation cited by the BBC found that of over 180 journalists killed during the war, 53 had ties to Hamas or other terrorist groups - about 29% - not a majority.
Therefore:
•Under the broad definition used by ITIC and HonestReporting - which counts employment by Hamas-controlled outlets like Al-Aqsa TV and any documented affiliation, not only active combatant status - studies conclude a majority, about 57-60%, had terrorist ties.
•Under CPJ's narrower definition - counting only active membership in the military wing or direct participation in hostilities as disqualifying - CPJ itself has only removed about 27 persons total (8 + 19) as combatants from lists of ~190-210, which is a minority, and still lists 191 as journalists/media workers killed by Israel.
Verification is limited because in-person verification by researchers from outside Gaza has been impossible since Israel barred international correspondents from entering Gaza independently at the start of the war.