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The ‘Good Doctor’: AP’s Trusted Source Was a Hamas-Aligned Ally of Ismail Haniyeh
Allegations of a cruel massacre and graphic accounts of the reportedly bloody aftermath were published online by global media within hours of what Israel later confirmed to be a precision strike on a Hamas command center situated within a school complex in Gaza on August 10.
The Associated Press led the charge, publishing its first story just an hour later that morning, describing the strike as “one of the deadliest attacks of the 10-month Israel-Hamas war.”
Relying on figures from the Hamas-run health authority, the AP claimed that at least 80 people had been killed, with nearly 50 others wounded.
In a subtle bit of editorializing, the AP suggested that innocent women and children were likely among the casualties, while also highlighting that this was the “latest of what the UN human rights office called ‘systematic attacks on schools’ by Israel,” reportedly leaving hundreds dead, including women and children.
Soon after, a more extensive AP story was prepared for syndication and subsequently repackaged and republished by the news service’s prominent media clients, including The Washington Post, NPR, and Politico.
Among those quoted in the AP’s more detailed report is Dr. Fadel Naim, described as the director of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, where many of the reported casualties were taken. Naim is quoted as saying his hospital received 70 bodies with what he claimed were the most severe injuries he had seen since the war began.
Naim’s comments were followed by testimony from “witness Abu Anas,” whom the AP mentions was clutching prayer beads as he recounted how multiple strikes hit people who were praying, washing, and sleeping upstairs, including children, women, and the elderly.
Yet a quick look into the online presence of Dr. Fadel Naim, the man the AP relied on for their Gaza death toll, reveals that in addition to being a medical professional, he is closely aligned with Hamas — so much so that Hamas’ recently-eliminated leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was a guest at his daughter’s wedding.
Deceased Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh at Naim’s daughter’s wedding
On October 7, 2023, Dr. Naim celebrated the Hamas massacre that initiated the conflict by posting an image of para-gliders over a map of Israel, accompanied by a religious call to arms. The following day, he escalated his rhetoric, urging Gazan civilians to ignore Israeli evacuation warnings for areas targeted by airstrikes — essentially encouraging higher civilian casualties to serve propaganda efforts.
Meet Fadel Naim. He’s a doctor at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza (yes, the one that Israel was falsely accused of bombing). He’s a regular interviewee in Western media, such as in @guardian & @Reuters below.
But this doctor also openly celebrated the massacre of Jews on October 7. pic.twitter.com/rv2gDKXSo7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 12, 2024
He has also repeatedly expressed his admiration for Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas, through numerous posts on his Facebook page, which resembles a shrine to Hamas and is steeped in antisemitic rhetoric.
In one particularly disturbing 2014 post, he invoked a prayer for Jews to be filled with fire.
Yet this individual — masked by the authority of his title as director of Al-Ahli Hospital — is whom the Associated Press relies on for reporting its death tolls.
This is the person from whom readers globally are receiving information and insight into the Israel-Hamas conflict: a man whose online presence is a testament to his unwavering support for the terrorist organization that initiated it.
More importantly, Naim can now be exposed as a major source of disinformation, having played a pivotal role in significantly inflating the death toll from the October 2023 explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital and falsely accusing Israel of the strike — a tragedy that, in reality, involved a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that hit a car park and caused limited damage.
Naim was a source in AP’s coverage of October 2023 Al-Ahli Hospital explosion
In addition to expressing support for the October 7th massacre and being a purveyor of disinformation, as CAMERA and Honest Reporting demonstrated today, Dr. Naim is, at the very least, a big fan of Hamas. Here is what he wrote about Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin:
“Fourteen years… pic.twitter.com/nu2vAca5Vw
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) August 12, 2024
While the AP describes Naim as the hospital’s director, other outlets — such as The New York Times — refer to him as the head of orthopedic surgery in recent coverage. Meanwhile, Turkish news agency Anadolu reports that the director of Al-Ahli is Suhaila Tarazi, who has been quoted in numerous stories over the past few months.
In an interesting twist, Dr. Naim also goes by the name “Abu Anas” on his Facebook page — the very same name as an eyewitness quoted by AP in their report, who vividly described the devastation caused by the strikes.
While “Abu Anas” is undoubtedly a common name in Gaza, the coincidence is noteworthy. It’s hard not to find a bit of irony in the fact that both the eyewitness and the AP’s primary medical source share not only a name but also similarly dramatic accounts of destruction — accounts that were later disputed by Israel.
The AP is arguably the most influential news agency in the world, with its news copy read by millions globally. If only those readers knew who AP gets its information from: a man who has glorified violence, advocated for the death of Jews, encouraged innocent Palestinians to remain in harm’s way, and knowingly spread false information.
The Associated Press cites its mission statement to “advance the power of facts.” Its choice of Dr. Fadel Naim as a source certainly undermines that purported objective.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post The ‘Good Doctor’: AP’s Trusted Source Was a Hamas-Aligned Ally of Ismail Haniyeh first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.