24 Al Jazeera journalists fired amid lawsuit linking them to Hamas, PIJ terror groups

The Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera has fired 24 journalists and other staff members in the Gaza Strip amid a U.S. lawsuit alleging links between the employees and the terrorist organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Ynet News outlet reported on Friday.

Some of the 24 employees are reportedly alleged to be members of the terrorist organizations, while others are alleged to have assisted the groups during the war against Israel.

The fired journalists responded by urging Al Jazeera to reverse its decision.

The Al Jazeera employees allegedly linked to the terror groups who were fired include Mohammed Shaheen, Mohammed al-Sharif, Ayman al-Hissi, Hassan al-Zaanin and Ashraf al-Sarraj from northern Gaza, as well as Jamal Adwan, Alaa Salama, Ola Abu Muammar, Moaz al-Amour, Abdullah Abu Kamil and Talal al-Arouqi from southern Gaza.

“We are asking for treatment that reflects the risks and sacrifices we endured during the war and protects our dignity and professional rights,” the suspects said in a joint statement on 𝕏.

The Israel Law Center filed the lawsuit in February 2025 in cooperation with StandWithUs, a pro-Israel advocacy group.  

In 2025, international media coverage and advocacy campaigns accused Israel of targeting journalists operating in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has repeatedly argued that many of the journalists are members of Hamas or affiliated with it and other designated terrorist organizations. In June, Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups identified several of the deceased as members of their armed operatives in published lists of those killed.

The Jerusalem Post reported the same month that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) agreed to conduct an extensive probe of its database of journalists killed during the Gaza war. Following the probe, CPJ announced that it had removed at least 20 names from its database after receiving confirmations that the individuals were affiliated with PIJ or Hamas.

“CPJ has always been clear that we do not include anyone in our data sets if there is evidence that they were engaging in combat or inciting imminent violence,” CEO Jodie Ginsberg said. “This is consistent with international humanitarian law, which considers journalists affiliated with non-state actors to be civilians, provided they do not directly participate in hostilities.”

CPJ emphasized that it only removed names from its database after conducting desk-based research and using at least two independent sources of information.

“CPJ condemns in no uncertain terms the misrepresentation of combatants as journalists or media workers, or the misuse of ‘Press’ insignia,” Ginsberg clarified. “Such actions endanger every single individual journalist legitimately trying to report. We are conducting a full review of the names on our lists to confirm that no one who was actively engaged in combat is listed in our data.”

CPJ has also urged the Israeli government and the Supreme Court in Jerusalem to lift restrictions on international journalists entering the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities have argued that Gaza remains an active war zone and stressed the risk of Hamas attempting to kidnap foreign journalists.