The year 2025 was not a good one for journalists worldwide. Incidents of violence against journalists continued throughout the year. A total of 16 journalists were killed in different parts of the world in May 2025. We are presenting brief details of these journalists: |
| Raúl Celis López |
Raúl Celis López, May 7, 2025, Peru
Raúl Celis López was a Peruvian journalist. At the time of his death he was the presenter of the early-morning show Hora Zero on Radio Karibeña. He was known for reporting on corruption and crime within Peru. He had worked as a journalist for 30 years in several outlets including Radio Tarapoto. On 7 May 2025, Celis López was shot dead by two unidentified men on a motorbike in Iquitos, while on his way to the radio station early in the morning. Raúl Celis López was the second journalist killed in Peru in 2025. |
| Yahya Sobeih |
Yahya Sobeih, May 7, 2025, Gaza
Yahya Sobeih, a journalist for a local news agency, was among 22 Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack on a crowded market in Gaza City on Wednesday 7 May, 2025. Reporter died hours after welcoming his newborn baby. Sobeh shared a photo on his Instagram, in which the child was seen in his lap.
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Nour al-Din Matar Abdo |
Nour al-Din Matar Abdo, May 7, 2025, Gaza
Palestinian journalist Nour al-Din Matar Abdo was killed in Israeli airstrikes in eastern Gaza on the morning of 7 May. Abdo, who worked for Al-Sharq News and Al-Rai radio, was hit directly by an Israeli fighter jet as he arrived at Al-Karama school in the morning. |
| Hassan Eslayeh |
Hassan Eslayeh, May 13, 2025, Gaza
Hassan Eslayeh, a Palestinian journalist & photographer from Gaza, was assassinated by Israel on May 13 while receiving treatment in the burn unit at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. He had been injured last April when Israeli airstrikes targeted a journalists’ tent. |
José Carlos González Herrera |
José Carlos González Herrera, May 15, 2025, Mexico
José Carlos González Herrera was the fourth journalist killed in Mexico in 2025. The head of the local Facebook news page, El Guerrero, Opinion Ciudadana, was shot dead on May 15 in central Acapulco, Guerrero state. José Carlos González Herrera, age 39, was killed by armed men who stopped him in central Acapulco, a city in Guerrero state, and shot him multiple times. He died on the spot. José Carlos González Herrera played a key role in highlighting citizen reports of corruption, government violence, and abuse of power in one of the Mexican states most affected by organized crime. With a satirical, critical approach, he created a persona that reported the news wearing a luchador mask—a symbol deeply ingrained in Mexican popular culture. In June 2023, the journalist survived a similar attack, which he publicly blamed on organized crime. Despite these threats, José Carlos González Herrera was not under the protection of the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. |
Hassan Sammour |
Hassan Sammour, May 15, 2025, Gaza
Journalist Hassan Sammour was killed on May 15, 2025, in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza. He was a broadcaster and program presenter for Sawt Al-Aqsa Voice Radio. Hassan and 11 members of his family were killed after Israeli strikes targeted their residence. |
Matthew Kelemen |
Matthew Kelemen, May 16, Las Vegas, US
Joseph Del Rivo, 63, murdered Matthew Kelemen, 56, on May 16. Kelemen was a freelance journalist who wrote for "Las Vegas Magazine." Nearly a week after the murder, on May 20, Las Vegas Metro police discovered Kelemen’s remains after getting a report of the smell near a business on North 3rd Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Kelemen’s work appeared in publications such as “The Daily Beast,” “Las Vegas Sun” and “Las Vegas Weekly,” according to his Muck Rack profile. His most recent article, published after his death, was a review of Janet Jackson’s residency. |
| Ahmed Al-Zainati |
Ahmed Al-Zainati, May 17, 2025, Gaza
Journalist Ahmed Al-Zainati, his wife Noor Al-Madhoun, and their children Mohammad and Khaled were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their displacement tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on the night of May 17, 2025. Zainati worked as a freelance reporter, contributing to outlets like the Siraj Media Network and various foreign blogs to document the humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip. |
Nour Qandil & Khaled Abu Saif |
Nour Qandil & Khaled Abu Saif, May 18, 2025, Gaza
Palestinian journalist couple Nour Qandil, Khaled Abu Saif and their daughter, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025.
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Aziz Al-Hajjar |
Aziz Al-Hajjar, May 18, 2025, Gaza
Journalist Aziz Al-Hajjar, along with his wife and children, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in the Bir Al-Naja area, northern Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. |
Abdul Rahman Tawfiq Al-Abadlah |
Abdul Rahman Tawfiq Al-Abadlah, May 18, 2025, Gaza
Journalist Abdul Rahman Tawfiq Al-Abadlah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Al-Qarara, Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. His family confirmed his death after losing contact with him for two days. |
| Dharmendra Singh Chauhan |
Dharmendra Singh Chauhan, May 18, 2025, India
Indian Journalist Dharmendra Singh Chauhan was shot by unknown assailants on May 18 in Jhajjar, Haryana. He later died in hospital. Dharmendra was associated with a TV channel & was doing journalism for many years. |
| Abdul Latif |
Abdul Latif, May 24, 2025, Pakistan
Baloch journalist Abdul Latif was shot dead on 24 May in the conflict-torn Awaran district of Balochistan province. Abdul Latif, who worked with Daily Intikhab and Aaj News, was highly respected among the people of Balochistan for his work. Latif was killed in front of his wife and children. According to media reports, the attackers were part of a militia linked to the Pakistan Army operating in the region. Reports said the journalist had faced the state's wrath for reporting and documenting disappearances, military excesses and civilian resistance in Balochistan. |
Hassan Majdi Abu Warda |
Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, May 25, 2025, Gaza
Palestinian Journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, Director of Barq Gaza News Agency, was killed on the morning of Sunday, May 25, 2025, in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his home in the Jabalia al-Nazla neighborhood in northern Gaza. |
Moataz Mohammed Rajab |
Moataz Mohammed Rajab, May 28, 2025, Gaza
Gaza journalist Moataz Mohammed Rajab was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on 28 May 2025. He worked as a cameraman and video editor for Al-Quds Today TV. During the attack, he was covering Israeli attacks on Al-Nafaq Street when an airstrike hit a civilian vehicle, killing him and four other civilians instantly. Gaza's government media office described it as part of Israel's "deliberate and systematic" action against journalists.
