“In the end, they realised he really was a journalist,” the source added, and the reporter was taken off the target list. ¹
OK – so this proves that when Israel finds they made a mistake they corrected it and did not order his killing.
A study by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center found that approximately 60% of individuals classified as journalists or media personnel killed during the Gaza war were members of or affiliated with terrorist organizations, primarily Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with many holding dual roles as armed operatives. This figure, based on an examination of 266 media workers killed between October 7, 2023, and November 30, 2025, indicates that 157 of the deceased were either direct members of terror groups or worked for outlets affiliated with them.
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Hamas Affiliation: Of the 157 individuals with terror ties, 104 were linked to Hamas, including at least 47 who served as military operatives.
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Other Groups: 45 were affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), including 18 confirmed operatives, while smaller numbers were linked to Fatah, PFLP, and other factions.
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Dual Identity: The report highlights a widespread pattern where media workers simultaneously served as military personnel, a phenomenon that the study notes undermines trust in media credibility and alters their status under international law.
The study also noted specific cases where individuals, including several Al Jazeera correspondents, were identified as having coordinated with terror groups to cover combat zones while acting as operatives, with some receiving advance notice of attacks to broadcast live coverage of the October 7 assault.
“To put people who celebrated or participated in the Oct. 7 attacks in the same category as journalists who risk and sometimes lose their lives endeavoring to bring us the truth is a disgrace.” ²
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Sources: ¹ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/15/israeli-military-unit-reportedly-tasked-with-linking-journalists-in-gaza-to-hamas ² James Kirchick, Aug 21, 2025, writing for the Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/who-is-a-journalist-in-gaza-18a70ad0 https://israel.com/security/dual-roles-undermine-trust-in-media-most-journalists-killed-in-gaza-had-terror-ties-study-finds/ https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyjqezozze https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/about-60-of-the-gazans-classified-as-journalists-and-other-media-personnel-killed-in-the-gaza-strip-war-belonged-to-hamas-and-other-terrorist-organizations/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/majority-of-journalists-killed-in-gaza-linked-to-terror-organizations-study-says/