Israeli Strike On Yemeni Newspaper Is Second-Deadliest Attack On Journalists In History

Last Updated:September 20, 2025, 23:03 IST

Israeli strikes killed 31 journalists in Sana’a, Yemen, marking the deadliest attack on media in 16 years, as reported by CPJ.

People carry the coffins of journalists killed by Israeli airstrikes in Sana’a, Yemen. (AP)

Thirty-one journalists and media personnel were killed last week when Israeli strikes hit newspaper offices in Yemen, an attack the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described on Friday as the deadliest against journalists in the past 16 years.

Israel targeted a newspaper complex in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, on September 10, home to three Houthi-affiliated media outlets. According to the publication’s editor-in-chief, members of the Yemeni army’s press division were completing the weekly print edition at the time, resulting in more journalists being present during the strike.

At least 35 people were killed in the attack, including one child who accompanied a journalist to the office, and 131 were wounded, according to the Houthi Ministry of Health. All of the journalists worked for either the Houthi-affiliated 26 September newspaper or the Yemen newspaper.

The CPJ stated that the attack was the second-deadliest on journalists it has ever documented, following the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines.

“It is a brutal and unjustified attack that targeted innocent people whose only crime was working in the media field, armed with nothing but their pens and words," Nasser al-Khadri, the editor-in-chief of 26 September, told the CPJ.

Targeting journalists or media personnel, even if linked to armed groups, violates international humanitarian law unless they are actively participating in hostilities.

In a statement, the Israeli military said that it had struck “military targets" in Sana’a that included the Houthi public relations department, which distributed “psychological terror". It also said the strikes were in retaliation for continued Houthi attacks on Israel, which the Houthis have said are meant as “solidarity" with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza conflict, the Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea that they consider linked to Israel.

The CPJ said the attack in Yemen comes as part of a larger pattern of Israel killing media workers across the Middle East and excusing those killings by attempting to portray journalists as combatants. Since 7 October 2023, Israel has killed 247 journalists in Gaza, according to the UN human rights office.

On 10 August, when Israel struck media tents in Gaza City, killing six journalists, including Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif, it claimed, without providing evidence, that they were Hamas members. Later, on 26 August, an Israeli double-tap strike on al-Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza resulted in the deaths of five more journalists.

In Lebanon, Israel also killed journalists affiliated with pro-Hezbollah channels, as well as members of Hezbollah’s media office, all of whom would be considered civilians under international law.

“Since 7 October 2023, Israel has emerged as a regional killer of journalists … This latest killing spree is not only a grave violation of international law, but also a terrifying warning to journalists across the region: no place is safe," said the CPJ regional programme director, Sara Qudah.

There has been widespread international condemnation of Israel’s systematic targeting of journalists in Gaza, yet Israeli soldiers responsible for these killings appear to face no repercussions. The deaths of Yemeni journalists have largely gone unnoticed by governments, raising concerns about continued impunity.

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