Five families of victims of the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Reuters and the Associated Press. In their filing the families claimed that the news agencies published the reports and pictures of their teams who were on assignment with the invading terrorists who carried out the atrocities.
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They said some of those "journalists" are affiliated with Hamas and took an active part in the massacre after entering Israel alongside the terrorists and were therefore accomplices to the worst of crimes.
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Shani Louk's body abducted during the Hamas October 7 massacre
(צילום: AP Photo/Ali Mahmud)
The news agencies are among the largest and most popular in the world and produce and distribute televised and written reports from all over the world, including Israel, using local teams, the lawsuit said. "They are liable for the direct and indirect damage and actions of their "journalists… any excuse or justification that could be raised claiming the rules of journalism – such as the right of the public to know – cannot justify a situation whereby a reporter for one of the agencies would be present, participate and film the commission of a serious crime, such as the abduction of an elderly woman from her home."
The filing also said that claiming the reporters and photographers did not know of the planned massacre is impossible since they "reported" on the very first minutes of the attack.
"Mai (Naim,) Abir (Lotan,) Guy (Gabriel Levi,) Shalev Madmoni and Shani (Louk) were young, lifel-oveing people who had their whole future in front of them, went to enjoy a music festival and were murdered in the massacre. Not much is known about the horrific circumstances of their deaths and their families held on to any scrap of information they could find from friends who survived the atrocities, and some information from the last communications they had with their families during the massacre," the filing read.
"There is no doubt that the "journalists" who were present at the massacre could have assisted the victims and notified Israeli authorities in advance so that the atrocities would have been prevented. The news agencies who had contracted the services of the "journalists, and who are responsible directly for their actions, are liable for damages caused to the plaintiffs."
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Cars of Nova music festival goers set on fire during Hamas massacre
(Photo: Yuval Chen)
There has been no filing from the defense at this time.
The National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) filed a lawsuit against the international news agency Associated Press (AP) on Thursday on behalf of survivors of Hamas’ October 7 attack and Nova music festival massacre alleging that the “AP materially supported terrorism through payments that they made to known agents of Hamas.”
The lawsuit named four freelance photographers whose work AP purchased and released including Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud, and Hatem Ali. Mahmud documented the abduction of Shani Louk's body and its display to Gazans as it was driven in the city.
Eslaiah, a freelance photographer who also works for CNN, crossed into Israel, took photos of a burning Israeli tank, and then photographed Palestinian infiltrators entering Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Screenshots from Eslaiah’s now-removed X account show him documenting himself holding a grenade and standing in front of an Israeli tank. He did not wear a press vest or a helmet, and the Arabic caption of his tweet read: “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements." Masoud, who also works for The New York Times, was there as well. Ali Mahmud and Hatem Ali photographed the abduction of Israelis into Gaza, including octogenarian Yafa Adar.
In November 2023, a report by media watchdog HonestReporting revealed that photographers working for various news agencies including AP and Reuters documented Hamas’ attack and accompanied the terror organization’s operatives.
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Hassan Eslaiah during the Hamas massacre on October 7 and with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar
(Photo: X)
At the time, AP said in response: "The Associated Press had no knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened. The role of the AP is to gather information on breaking news events around the world, wherever they happen, even when those events are horrific and cause mass casualties. AP uses images taken by freelancers around the world, including in Gaza."
Reuters denied the allegations.
"We dispute, in the strongest terms, any allegation that Reuters aided and abetted terrorism or provided support to terrorists. Reuters is committed to reporting news fairly, accurately and independently in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Reuters categorically denies that it had prior knowledge of the attack or that we embedded journalists with Hamas on October 7.
We remain deeply concerned about the irresponsibility of HonestReporting in publishing last November false and damaging accusations about Reuters newsgathering on October 7.
The baseless speculation in HonestReporting’s post, presented as “raising ethical questions,” has posed grave risks to journalists in the region, including those working for Reuters. We believe that HonestReporting should be held to account for the spread of misinformation it has triggered, and for the risk and reputational harm its inflammatory claims have caused to journalists reporting on this conflict.
We are aware of the accusations made against two freelance photographers who contributed to Reuters coverage of the October 7 attack. We have investigated and found no evidence to support any claim of coordination with Hamas by the two freelance journalists whose images we published.
Reuters acquired photographs from two Gaza-based freelance photographers on the morning of October 7. The photographs published by Reuters were taken two hours after Hamas fired rockets across southern Israel and more than 45 minutes after Israel said gunmen had crossed the border. Reuters had no prior relationship with either photographer.
Reuters did not publish any images from Hassan Eslaiah, Hatem Ali or Ali Mahmoud, nor from Hassan Asliya or Yusuf Massoud, and does not have a relationship with them."