A new study has found that about 60 percent of the people described as journalists or media workers who were killed during the war in the Gaza Strip were Hamas operatives or members of other terror groups.
The research, published Thursday morning by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, examined the identities of 266 Palestinians who were labeled as journalists or media workers and died in the fighting. At least 157 of them were operatives or individuals affiliated with terror organizations.
Anas Al-Sharif covering the release of Israeli hostage Agam Berger from captivity
The study follows an earlier report released by the center in February last year that reviewed the identities of 131 Palestinians described in Gaza as journalists or media workers. The new research looked at an additional 135 Palestinians who have been killed since then and found that about 60 percent of all the casualties in this category were members of terror groups.
According to the findings, 104 of those described as journalists or media workers were Hamas members, including at least 47 who were part of the terror group or served as military operatives. Another 45 were operatives or affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including at least 18 identified as members or military operatives. Two were identified as operatives of Fatah’s military wing, two belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, one to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and one to the Popular Resistance Committees.
The study also noted two media workers who were described after their deaths as military operatives, although their organizational affiliation was not identified. Among 109 additional fatalities examined, eight were identified with Fatah and seven with the Palestinian Authority. No affiliation was found for the remaining 94.
Researchers said the study was based on a list of media workers published by Hamas’ government information office in Gaza. The center cross referenced the list with reports from Palestinian media outlets and with a Hamas document uncovered by Israel Defense Forces troops during ground operations in Gaza. The document included names and roles of operatives in the Gaza Brigade of Hamas’ military wing.
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Sixty percent of those described as journalists who were killed in the war in Gaza were Hamas members and other terrorists
(Photo: Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center)
The center said organizational affiliation was determined according to two criteria. Either clear membership in a group or its military wing, or employment in a media outlet belonging to one of the terror groups, which indicates identification with the organization and acting on its behalf. The researchers said some individuals served as military operatives although their specific organizational ties could not be confirmed.
Hamas considers journalists a critical part of its propaganda apparatus and its efforts to shape public perception and incite violence, the center emphasized. Terror groups in Gaza, led by Hamas, operate numerous media outlets aligned with them. Hamas leaders have repeatedly said that the media front is as important as the military one.
The study highlighted the widespread use of dual roles in Gaza, where media workers simultaneously serve as armed operatives. This pattern was especially evident in cooperation between Hamas and the Qatar based Al Jazeera network. This overlap not only undermines trust in the media workers and the credibility of their reporting, the researchers said, but also changes their status under international law and exposes them to danger because military forces cannot distinguish between genuine journalists and terror operatives.
Throughout the war, the Israel Defense Forces have repeatedly published statements showing that individuals presented as journalists were in fact terrorists who took part in attacks against Israel. In August, the IDF said a well known Gaza Al Jazeera correspondent, Anas al Sharif, killed in an airstrike near Shifa Hospital, was a Hamas operative. The military said he operated under the guise of a journalist while serving as a Hamas cell leader and advancing rocket fire plans.
The IDF also revealed intelligence and documents seized in Gaza that confirmed the affiliation of several Al Jazeera journalists with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In October last year, the IDF published information identifying six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza as members of the two terror groups.
In June this year, the IDF said it struck two Islamic Jihad terrorists operating under the guise of journalists in the courtyard of Al Maamadani Hospital. According to the military, the terrorists used the hospital compound to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces and civilians.
In May, the IDF and Shin Bet said they killed Gaza journalist Hassan Aslih in a targeted strike in Khan Younis. He had operated on October 7 under the cover of a media worker and broadcast live images of the burning tank near the border. The military said he was a Hamas operative who took part in the October 7 massacre and uploaded footage of looting, fires and killings. After October 7, he was hired by CNN and later dismissed when his ties to Hamas became known. He had previously published a photograph of himself with former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was seen kissing him.
In March, the IDF struck a group of terrorists in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, including one who had infiltrated Israel on October 7 and others posing as media workers. The military said the group operated a drone used by Islamic Jihad for attacks.
In December last year, five journalists from the Al Quds Al Youm channel were killed in what Palestinians said was an airstrike on a broadcast vehicle near a hospital in Nuseirat. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the strike, but the IDF said the vehicle carried an Islamic Jihad terror cell.
In August 2024, Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, a Hamas Nukhba operative who took part in the October 7 massacre, was killed. Two months earlier, journalist Abdallah Aljamal was killed after Al Jazeera distanced itself from him when it emerged he had held three Israeli hostages in his home. While the hostages were held in his house, he continued writing for Palestine Chronicle, a United States registered nonprofit.
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Hamas document implicating Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul in terrorist activity
(Photo: IDF)
In January 2024, Mustafa Thuria and Hamza al-Dahdouh operated drones for Gaza terror groups and were killed near Rafah. Al Dhadouh worked for Al Jazeera, as did his father, Wael al Dahdouh. The network condemned the strike at the time. According to the IDF, the two terrorists had used drones in ways that posed a real threat to Israeli forces.