The Truth Behind Gazan “Journalists”

_WHAT’S HAPPENING_

Recent Israeli military operations have come under fire for supposedly intentionally targeting journalists. In an airstrike in Khan Younis that killed 10 people, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stated that multiple targets were Hamas terrorists "operating under the guise of a journalist."

This incident has intensified the debate over journalist casualties in Gaza, with media advocacy groups claiming Israel is deliberately killing press workers. The Committee to Protect Journalists called 2024 the "deadliest year for journalists" globally, attributing nearly 70 of these deaths to Israeli actions. Israel maintains it targets only those with terrorist affiliations.

_THE FACTS_

• The IDF accused “photographer” Hassan Aslih — one of the casualties in the recent Khan Younis strike — of taking part in the October 7 attacks by filming and posting footage of “looting, arson, and murder.”

• Israel also took out Mohammed Al-Bardawil, a “journalist” in Gaza who was actually a senior Hamas leader producing propaganda videos.

• Terrorists frequently pose as journalists. Another, Anas Al-Sharif, who refused to cover recent anti-Hamas protests in Gaza, was accused of being a Hamas member by Israel late last year.

• Hamas has a history of over-reporting its casualties: they recently removed 3,400 names from its official list — including over 1,080 previously reported child deaths.

• Hamas initially claimed most casualties were women and children, but its data now shows that 72 percent of those killed between ages 13 and 55 were men.

• Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry admitted that some families filed false death claims to receive promised government payouts.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Gaza’s death toll includes 14,000 fighters and 16,000 civilians.

• The Palestinian foreign ministry claims 207 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 2023.

• The Geneva Convention holds that "journalists enjoy the protection afforded by international humanitarian law provided that they do not take a direct part in the hostilities.”

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