“For more than a year, Hamas has incited violence against Gazan journalists who work with us, simply because we dare to expose the reality of terror, brutality and corruption,” says Hadeel Oueis, a U.S.-based journalist originally from Syria and editor-in-chief of the media platform Jusoor News. The platform, whose mission is to amplify voices of resistance to Iranian influence in the Middle East, has come under increasing threat from Hamas, particularly targeting its contributors in Gaza.
Speaking to ynet amid growing threats toward media activists in the enclave who dare to criticize Hamas publicly, Oueis said: “Hamas wants to prove to Gazans that it ‘won’ by silencing dissent. The easiest targets are the journalists and activists who openly opposed them during the war.”
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A social media post bearing the caption 'Hadeel Oueis, the Arabic voice of the Mossad'
Operating under the name "Jusoor News" on social media, the platform runs YouTube and Telegram channels, along with X and Facebook accounts. It is a pan-Arab, non-governmental media initiative based in the United States, with contributors in Egypt, Jordan, Gaza and countries aligned with Iran’s Shiite axis. Beyond opposing Iranian dominance in the region, Jusoor News also promotes a message of resistance to Islamist extremism and a vision for regional cooperation.
Throughout the war, Jusoor News journalists reported from across Gaza, broadcasting voices of opposition to Hamas. Now, during the ceasefire, its team has become a direct target. Oueis and her reporters in Gaza have been subjected to slander and death threats.
On Sunday, Oueis posted on X: “For over a year, Hamas has incited violence against Gazan journalists who work for @JusoorNews... Last summer, they abducted and tortured three of our staff. Now they are issuing explicit death threats against us, including me personally. Threats to murder journalists — whether American citizens, Arab nationals, or a woman like me who is both — should alarm anyone who champions human rights or freedom of expression."
She held Hamas and its affiliates responsible for any harm that may come to her team, stating firmly: “We will not be silent.”
Oueis’s comments have drawn expressions of solidarity from White House insiders and senior figures in American media. But backlash has also intensified. One particularly virulent post against her included an AI-generated image depicting Oueis holding dogs with the faces of Jusoor News reporters superimposed on them. The caption accused her of being “a pro-Zionist Syrian living in the United States” who runs “a platform funded by the UAE and the Zionist lobby in America.”
“It’s overwhelming to face this kind of harassment,” Oueis told ynet from her home in the United States. “We’re talking about hundreds upon hundreds of posts inciting against me and the Jusoor News team in Gaza. Hamas has targeted our journalists before. Anytime they see someone interviewed by Jusoor criticizing Hamas, they go after them. They send members of the Al-Qassam Brigades to interrogate them and demand to know who interviewed them. Some of our reporters are now in hiding, moving from tent to tent. They’re in serious danger—Hamas can find them at any moment. They call us ‘collaborators.’ We’re journalists. We publish reports. And they attack us for it.”
The ceasefire, she said, has only intensified the pressure. “During the war, Hamas fighters were preoccupied with Israeli airstrikes and focused on staying alive. Now that things have quieted down, they’re working to rebuild their control. And that starts with silencing us.”
Oueis added that operating in Gaza is far more dangerous than working in other Arab countries. “Hamas isn’t used to Arab networks criticizing them so directly. They go after the people we interview. We know of one woman who spoke to us and was beaten nearly to death by Hamas supporters from her own family. Others have been summoned for interrogations—held in hospitals, schools or other places Hamas uses as bases.”
"Hamas led us to destruction. There's no future with them"
A journalist working with Jusoor News, who was tortured by Hamas, spoke to ynet from hiding inside the Gaza Strip. “I was among those who took part in the recent protests in Beit Lahia, in the central refugee camps, and in Khan Younis. That’s why I was abducted,” he said. “They interrogated me to find out who I work for. They asked if I had ties to Egyptian intelligence or to the Palestinian Authority’s intelligence in Ramallah. I told them I have no such connections—I’m just a regular person. I joined the protests because that’s my job. I’m the voice of the people.”
He described severe abuse during his detention, including being handcuffed and beaten. The ordeal lasted several days—days he remembers vividly. He said he was also subjected to electric shocks. “They have people watching me everywhere I go,” he said. “Every time I step outside, I feel like I’m being watched. You could say I’m under constant surveillance. But I have no choice. I have no way out. I’m forced to remain silent because there’s no chance I can leave.
“Hamas led us to destruction and ruin on October 7, even though they were preparing for it long before. That day proved to the world that Hamas is truly reckless and without conscience, caring only for its own interests. The people of Gaza are suffering terribly under Hamas rule. They’re left to face their fate alone, under a regime built on oppression, violence, destruction and death. There’s no future with Hamas.”
Media networks aligned with the pro-Hamas axis are filled with hostile coverage targeting the Jusoor News platform. In October, the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian news agency Shehab published a report on the outlet. The article was later quoted by Lebanon’s Al-Manar channel, which is affiliated with Hezbollah. It stated: “At the forefront of the platform stands Hadeel Oueis, a Syrian journalist based in the United States, known for her close ties to Zionist lobbying circles and her media role in promoting the Israeli narrative.”
The report also claimed that “investigations have linked her name to efforts to recruit Arab writers, journalists and artists for normalization purposes, using Jusoor as ‘a soft front, with an Arab face, for a Zionist project.’” It alleged that the initiative is part of a psychological warfare campaign involving the purchase of followers and automated bots aimed at “demonizing the resistance.”
Jusoor News activists emphasize that the platform is a rare voice in the Arab media landscape, one that finally allows Palestinians and other critics of the regional axis to say what is otherwise forbidden.