The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday, October 23, announced that six Al Jazeera Arabic journalists in Gaza Strip are members of the Palestinian groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The six named journalists are Anas al-Sharif, Talal Aruki, Alaa Salama, Hossam Shabat, Ismail Farid and Ashraf Saraj.
“The IDF has disclosed intelligence information and numerous documents found in Gaza confirming military affiliation of six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, including personnel tables, lists of terrorist training courses, phone directories, and salary documents for terrorists,” the IDF said in a post on X.
The IDF claimed the document prove the “integration of Hamas terrorists within the Qatari Al Jazeera media network.”
“Most of the journalists that the IDF has exposed as operatives in Hamas’ military wing spearhead the propaganda for Hamas at Al Jazeera, especially in northern Gaza,” it added.
Al Jazeera rejects Israeli claims against journalists
Taking to X on Wednesday, Al Jazeera denied the claims, calling them unfounded, fabricated and part of a “wider pattern of hostility”.
“These journalists have been steadfastly reporting from northern Gaza, with Al Jazeera being the sole international media presence documenting the unfolding humanitarian crisis resulting from Israel’s siege and bombardment of civilian populations,” the network said in a statement.
“Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence.”
“The Network views these fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide,” the statement added.
“The Committee to Protect Journalists is aware of accusations made by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against several journalists in Gaza accusing them of being members of militant groups,” the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on X.
“Israel has repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence. After killing Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul in July, the IDF previously produced a similar document, which contained contradictory information, showing that Al Ghoul, born in 1997, received a Hamas military ranking in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old.”
Since October 2023, Israel has killed over 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza and injured over 100,000, as per the Gaza health ministry.
