Media Claims 5 Gaza Journalists Were Killed By Israel. They Were Terrorists.

Media outlets around the world reported Thursday that five Palestinian journalists were killed in Gaza by Israel, even though those “journalists” were members of a terrorist group.

The BBC’s headline declared, “Five Gaza journalists killed in Israeli strike targeting armed group,” and began its coverage by citing Quds TV, a Palestinian TV channel that is affiliated with the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

The PIJ is described by the BBC merely as “an armed group that took part in 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.” The BBC also, early in its report, mentioned that the wife of one of the “journalists” was about to give birth. The outlet waited until the fourth paragraph to mention that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted “Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists” and that steps were taken to avoid harming civilians.”

But immediately after, the BBC included a comment from the Committee to Protect Journalists saying it was “devastated by the reports” and that “Journalists are civilians and must always be protected.” The outlet spends most of the article claiming that Israel has been killing “journalists” in Gaza.

The five men killed were Ibrahim Jamal Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, Faisal Abdallah Muhammad Abu Qamsan, Mohammed Ayad Khamis al-Ladaa, Ayman Nihad Abd Alrahman Jadi, and Fadi Ihab Muhammad Ramadan Hassouna, all of whom the IDF labels as PIJ operatives.

Other outlets also followed the framing that the men were merely journalists. The Associated Press, for example, cited the notoriously unreliable Gaza Health Ministry as its source that the men were journalists. Only after claiming they were journalists did the AP acknowledge that the Israeli military says the men were posing as journalists and were actually Islamic militants.

CNN also used this framing, citing Gaza authorities.

Eitan Fischberger, a former staff sergeant for the IDF, posted a thread on X identifying each of the men as terrorists, including their public postings, which include pro-terrorism statements.

Faisel likes to indoctrinate children into a life of terrorism, because “journalism” pic.twitter.com/C3S9iiQ3ZN

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) December 26, 2024

Media outlets routinely present stories from the side of the Palestinians over Israel. In August, more than 80 outlets had to issue a correction after republishing an article from the AP that falsely stated the civilian death toll in Gaza had “exceeded 40,000,” The Daily Wire reported at the time.

But “not even Hamas has alleged that more than 40,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been killed in the war between Israel and the terror organization,” the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), which monitors Arab media, reported at the time.

“While the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported over 40,000 total deaths among Gaza’s residents, its data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israeli sources, meanwhile, estimate that over 17,000 of those killed are Hamas combatants,” the organization added.

Media outlets have also repeatedly cited the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, even though it routinely lies about civilian casualties, The Daily Wire reported.