From the Editor
Justin McCurry
Next month will mark two years since Hamas militants infiltrated Jewish communities near Israel’s border with Gaza, killing and abducting soldiers and innocent civilians, including young people at an all-night dance festival in southern Israel. Since Israel launched its reprisal assault on Gaza, the few journalists reporting on the ground have been systematically killed by the Israeli Defense Forces - a claim the IDF have repeatedly denied. Just two months into the conflict, the UN said it was alarmed by the “unprecedented” killing of journalists and media workers in Gaza. At the time, UN authorities had confirmed the deaths of 50 journalists; today, estimates put the figure at more than 240. The comparisons with previous conflicts are horrifying. More journalists have been killed in Gaza than in the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and several other modern conflicts combined, according to one study. In this month’s special report, we detail the growing death toll among (mainly) Palestinian journalists and speak to one of those in the firing line, the Al Jazeera Gaza City bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh. To complete the special report, former BBC correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes recalls the myriad frustrations he encountered reporting on Gaza and the West Bank more than a decade ago. The deaths of so many of our colleagues have prompted anger and disgust at the (so far unpunished) targeting of journalists, and admiration for their bravery and determination to tell one of the most harrowing stories of our times. But it has also raised question that journalists in other parts of the world, including Japan, should find uncomfortable: has our silence and inaction in some way enabled their slaughter?
Cover artwork by Julio Shiiki
The Number 1 Shimbun
September 2025
Publisher FCCJ
Editor Justin McCurry
Designer Julio Kohji Shiiki, www.sedo.co.jp
Website Paul Braganza
Editorial Assistant Naomichi Iwamura
Photo coordination Hiroko Moriwaki
Publications Committee
Justin McCurry (Chair), Suvendrini Kakuchi, David McNeill, Andy Sharp
FCCJ Board of Directors
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Published by the FCCJ All opinions contained within the Number 1 Shimbun are those of the authors. As such, these opinions do not constitute an official position of Number 1 Shimbun, the editor or the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.