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Media Give Platform to Gaza Journalists Who Infiltrated Israel or Praised Hamas Massacre

The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

International media outlets have given an uncritical platform over the last month to independent Gaza journalists and social media influencers who either infiltrated Israel to cover Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, or praised them.

The New York Times, Reuters, NBC News and LA Times have legitimized these journalists’ and influencers’ presence inside Israel — or their extremist views — by using their materials or quoting them as reliable witnesses.

On October 9, two days after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel and despite plenty of other sources to rely upon, The New York Times published a piece putting front and center a Gaza reporter who broadcast live from the massacre.

Muthana Al-Najjar, an independent Gaza-based journalist who operates a Telegram channel with over 200k subscribers, entered Israel on October 7 to document the butchering of Israelis by Hamas.

His stand-up to camera from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, as gunshots are heard in the background, shocked many Israelis that day. He did not wear a press vest or a helmet to make him identifiable as a member of the press. He clearly did not feel under threat from the Hamas terrorists in his midst. He also shared a picture showing two of the terrorists triumphantly stepping on the body of a murdered Israeli, with a comment translated from Arabic: “Their dead under the feet of the warriors of al-Qassam Brigades.”

 

 

Yet The New York Times didn’t see any problem in dedicating an empathetic piece to Al-Najjar’s October 7 coverage (in the middle section of this news wrap). He was even interviewed to give a first-hand account:

Mr. Al-Najjar, a freelance reporter who posted the footage to social media, initially entered Israel through a breach in the fence along the perimeter with Gaza. He said it was the first time he had ever left Gaza in his life, because of the blockade imposed by Israel and backed by Egypt that restricts movement in and out of the enclave.

While women were raped, families tortured to death and children burnt alive, The New York Times still made sure to highlight how it was the first time Al-Najjar set foot — like the terrorists — on Israel’s territory. And the terrorists clearly let him do his job uninterrupted.

The piece also mentions Al-Najjar’s filming the kidnapping of a terrified mother and her two children and a video in which he seems to document himself taking a ride on a motorbike into the kibbutz where the abduction took place.

The author of the piece, Yousur Al-Hlou, attempts to humanize Al-Najjar by including sentences like: “The person filming, Muthana Al-Najjar, a 39-year-old from Gaza, can be heard asking the gunmen not to harm them.”

The piece shamefully ends with Al-Najjar’s quote concerning dead terrorists he had recognized, which makes it seem as if they were victims rather than perpetrators:

Mr. Al-Najjar said that as he was leaving Nir Oz, he saw at least two gunmen whose faces he recognized lying dead in a field, and he thought there were likely others.

“There are dozens missing there, as well as dead and injured,” Mr. Al-Najjar said. “No one knows how many.”

It is worth noting that Al-Hlou is also the author of a piece published by The New York Times on November 9, featuring a video by none other than discredited photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah, who was exposed by HonestReporting a day earlier and whose acquaintance with Yahya Sinwar — the Hamas mastermind of the October 7 attacks — has been made public.

The piece presents the work of three Gazan self-proclaimed journalists (see below for further details on two of them). It does clarify they are not neutral observers. But it includes an Instagram video featuring one of them that — according to the Arabic watermark (circled in red in the screenshot above) — has been shot by Eslaiah. It seems like Eslaiah even interviewed the person he had filmed, although the question answered is edited out.

While one can only hope that Al-Hlou and her editors at The New York Times missed this tiny detail, they should have done a better job checking the source of what they wished to present to their audience. Especially considering CNN and AP announced within hours after the HonestReporting expose that they had cut ties with Eslaiah.

Reuters, LA Times and NBC News Rely on Influencers Who Praised Hamas Attack

Furthermore, a joint investigation by The Jerusalem Post and HonestReporting has revealed the names of several Gazan social media influencers who have praised Hamas’ October 7th attack, and whose work is used, reported on, or relied upon by international media.

One of them is Doaa Rouqa, a freelance Reuters photojournalist, who has over 270k followers on Instagram. On October 7, she posted praise for Hamas’ attack on her Facebook page.

One post reads in Arabic: “October, Gaza, Glorious — history will record. Alaqsa flood.” Another, showing a picture of Hamas terrorists inside Israel, reads: “May God protect them. #alAqsa Flood … A morning and day like no other on the road to liberation and great victory, God willing.”

 

This overt support for terror did not prevent Reuters from buying her photos, which according to the news agency’s database, mainly feature Gazans suffering at Al-Shifa Hospital.

Did Reuters check Rouqa’s background or ask about her ability to deliver impartial coverage from where, according to the Israeli army, Hamas commanders are hiding?

Other outlets, like NBC News, have written about “the unfiltered coverage” of popular digital creators like Motaz Azaiza or Hind Khoudary:

The unfiltered coverage, as seen in the Instagram post below, adds a unique element to the broader journalistic efforts to capture what’s happening in Gaza.

But NBC News failed to mention that Khoudary is a Hamas collaborator who had turned Palestinians working for peace with Israelis over to Hamas.

It also failed to mention that Azaiza had posted on social media platform X a video of the kidnapping of Israelis into Gaza. He also posted a video showing Hamas terrorists inside Israel with a triumphant caption reading in Arabic: “The Gazans entered the settlements!!!!!!!! With jeeps we see in the streets of Gaza.”

 

The piece includes a video of Khoudary and Azaiza shot by another Gaza influencer with 2.4 million followers on Instagram, Ahmed Hijazee. On October 7, Hijazee posted on X the following praise for Hamas’ October 7 attack with a heart emoji and a Palestinian flag: “The men of the resistance are traveling inside our occupied territory.”

He also posted a video showing the terrorists celebrating over the mutilated body of an Israeli soldier, with an emoji of a handshake and a comment saying in Arabic: “The talk is about kidnapping a soldier and bringing him to the center of Bani Shaila. He was presented in front of the people.”

 

Khoudary and Azaiza are also mentioned in a Los Angeles Times piece from October 29. The piece quotes them as unbiased witnesses who had bravely shared their experiences of a weekend blackout in Gaza. Nowhere does it mention Khoudary’s background or Azaiza’s uploads.

International media should not be a careless mouthpiece for pro-Hamas voices. They should not lend legitimacy or credibility to people who praise terrorism.

The least they can do is properly vet and question the Gazan journalists and social media influencers they give a platform to or rely upon, bearing in mind how the territory is run by a terrorist organization that controls the flow of information.

The audience has a right to know that these people are not neutral bystanders supplying objective materials and information. The media have a duty to exercise transparency.

HonestReporting is a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

The post Media Give Platform to Gaza Journalists Who Infiltrated Israel or Praised Hamas Massacre first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.

The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.

They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.

Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.

Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.

The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.

The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.

Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.

He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.

The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.

Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.

Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.

Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.

Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.

The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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