RSS
Shocking Revelation: Gaza Photojournalists Shared Call to Infiltrate Israel on Oct. 7
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
A Gaza photojournalist working for the international media called on residents of the coastal enclave to cross the border into Israel on October 7, after Hamas terrorists had breached it, an HonestReporting investigation has found.
Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, a freelancer who has been working for Reuters, made the comments while excitedly displaying footage of Hamas atrocities on an Instagram Live hosted in Gaza by another photojournalist, Ashraf Amra.
Amra has been working for AP, Reuters, and APA Images, as well as for Turkish agency Anadolu. The investigation also found Amra had been honored with kisses by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on two previous occasions.
The revelation casts doubt on the journalistic impartiality of the two freelance photojournalists and the vetting procedures of media outlets that have relied on their work.
The following information was compiled based on a probe of Amra’s and Abu Mostafa’s social media accounts. We also looked at articles and visuals published online and checked image databases of relevant media outlets.
“Whoever Can Go — Go”
On October 7, Amra hosted an Instagram Live from Khan Younis to provide updates following Hamas’ deadly cross-border assault on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 taken hostage.
During the broadcast, Amra willingly let a thrilled Abu Mostafa, who had just returned from Israeli territory, display the brutal acts that he had captured on his phone at the breached border area.
Amra can be seen laughing and smiling while Abu Mostafa presented footage of the lynching of an Israeli soldier:
Abu Mostafa went on to say: “We were there two hours ago, since the beginning.”
He detailed what he saw at the border and deep inside Israel, in Sderot. He described breaking into a room where Israelis were hiding before being taken by Hamas terrorists.
He then called on people to cross into the sovereign Jewish state: “Advice, whoever can go — go. It is a one-time event that will not happen again.”
And Amra replies: “Really, it will not repeat itself.”
Abu Mostafa’s border photos, one of which seems to show the lynching he had shared on Amra’s Live, were recently selected by Reuters and The New York Times to be included in their 2023 “Images of the Year.”
Amra was also at the border earlier in the day. In the Instagram Live he said:
I just returned from the Khuza’a area, near the Khuza’a area on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip. Tens of armed Palestinian men are constantly storming the border toward the settlements around Gaza.
Some media outlets published a photo credited to “Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images,” showing a digger breaching the border fence. Reuters selected another photo by Amra, taken on October 7 inside Gaza, as one of its “Pictures of the Month” for October 2023.
In November, HonestReporting published an expose that raised serious ethical questions regarding the early morning presence of Gaza photojournalists — including Abu Mostafa — at the breached Gaza-Israel border on October 7.
We questioned the morality and professionalism of those photojournalists who appeared to accompany Hamas terrorists on their rampage and inquired as to what level of knowledge these freelancers had prior to the Hamas infiltration, asking whether it was only physical borders that were breached.
Now, the exposure of a journalist who proudly proclaims he has been at the border “since the beginning” — coupled with his call to infiltrate Israel while displaying Hamas atrocities — crosses more boundaries. Particularly when he had been given the platform to do so by another fellow journalist, who was happy to share it with his 188K Instagram followers.
Kissed By Haniyeh
Amra’s willingness to utilize his social media channel in this manner may be explained by the special personal treatment he has received from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
In mid-September, the terror group leader paid a visit to Amra who was being treated for a hand injury in an Istanbul hospital.
Amra had been injured while covering Gaza border riots (without a press vest), and he blamed Israeli troops for targeting him.
In the photos and videos published after the meeting, Haniyeh is seen kissing Amra’s cheeks and arm cast.
According to media reports, Haniyeh told Amra during the visit that he appreciated his role and that of the Palestinian media in exposing “the crimes of the occupation.” Amra replied that the injury won’t prevent him from returning to his “national role.”
The high-profile hospital visit was not the first time Haniyeh had honored the veteran photojournalist, to whom he presented an award back in 2012:
Does Haniyeh provide such VIP treatment to every Gaza-based journalist who may have been injured while working? What is the nature of his connection with Amra? Does it explain Amra’s easy access to coverage of Hamas leadership and training in Gaza?
Interestingly, according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Amra has also been working alongside Hassan Eslaiah, a freelance photojournalist whose infiltration into Israel and close ties with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar were detailed in HonestReporting’s expose in November. Subsequently, AP and CNN cut ties with Eslaiah.
All of the above should sound the alarm bells for news organizations and their audiences worldwide.
The exhilaration at the display of Hamas atrocities, along with the sharing of a call to infiltrate Israel, where Hamas had been brutalizing, raping, and murdering innocent Israelis on October 7, are appalling in their own right.
So is the flattery their actions earned from the head of a genocidal terror organization.
There are serious questions for the international media outlets who prominently showcased these photojournalists’ work:
Did they vet Amra and Abu Mostafa before publishing their work?
Were any outlets aware of the photojournalists’ social media activity and of Amra’s recognition by the leader of a proscribed terror group?
What exactly are their vetting procedures for freelancers in Gaza?
And, if there are different codes of conduct for freelancers vs. permanent staff, then why isn’t that disclosed on every article that a freelancer works on?
A commitment to journalistic ethics should prompt the news organizations we have named to answer these very basic questions.
And basic humanity should compel them to answer these questions.
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 Shocking Revelation: Gaza Photojournalists Shared Call to Infiltrate Israel on Oct. 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday

US President Donald Trump attends the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump’s order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States goes into effect at 12:01 am ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, a move the president promulgated to protect the country from “foreign terrorists.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.
He cited last Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban.
The travel ban forms part of Trump’s policy to restrict immigration into the United States and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief.
Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump’s action.
“Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the U.S. a luxury airplane for Trump’s use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S.
Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban.
Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies.
“Trump’s travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,” said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. “People have a right to seek asylum.”
The post Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in southern Syria’s Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in the country in nearly a month.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the strike.
Israel said on Tuesday it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel for the first time under the country’s new leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa accountable.
Damascus in response said reports of the shelling were unverified, reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party.
A little known group named “Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024, reportedly claimed responsibility for the shelling. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the claim.
The post Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza-Bound Yacht Carrying Greta Thunberg

FILE PHOTO: Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen, which left the Italian port of Catania on June 1 to travel to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, in this picture released on June 2, 2025 on social media. Photo: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the military on Sunday to stop a charity boat carrying activists including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg who are planning to defy an Israeli blockade and reach Gaza.
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly towards the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
“I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen .. does not reach Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends, I say clearly: You’d better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.”
Climate activist Thunberg said she joined the Madleen crew to “challenge Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza and highlight the urgent need for humanitarian aid. She has rejected previous Israeli accusations of antisemitism.
Israel went to war with Hamas in October 2023 after the Islamist terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing more 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to the enclave.
Katz said the blockade was essential to Israel’s national security as it seeks to eliminate Hamas.
“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,” he said.
The Madleen is carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the FFC has said.
FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said on Sunday the boat was currently some 160 nautical miles (296 km) from Gaza. “We are preparing for the possibility of interception,” she said.
Besides Thunberg, there are 11 other crew members aboard, including Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
Israeli media have reported that the military plans to intercept the yacht before it reaches Gaza and escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The crew would then be deported.
In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was leading a small flotilla towards Gaza.
The post Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza-Bound Yacht Carrying Greta Thunberg first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login