Gaza terror groups reveal multiple 'journalists' among their dead fighters

Following the declaration of a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip last October, several Palestinian militant groups have begun publishing death notices for members killed during the conflict.

Many of these announcements, issued months and in some cases years after the deaths occurred, are shedding new light on one of the most persistent charges leveled against Israel and the IDF – that they deliberately target journalists in Gaza.

The allegation has been echoed by organizations, which have accused Israel of the deaths of roughly two-thirds of the journalists killed worldwide in 2025.

“Israel was responsible for two-thirds of all journalist and media worker killings in 2025, driving the total number killed worldwide last year to a record 129 – the highest ever number documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) since the organization started keeping records more than three decades ago,” CPJ reported in February.

The committee also stated, “The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has committed more targeted killings of journalists than any other government’s military since CPJ began documentation in 1992.” 

תיעוד: צלם רשת אל-ג'זירה, אחמד ושאח, עשה הרבה דברים ברצועת עזה מעבר להיות צלם בערוץ הקטרי. בתיעוד הזה נראה ושאח, צלף בזרוע הצבאית של חמאס, בתהלוכת רחוב שכוללת ירי באוויר. ביום שבת חוסל בתקיפה מהאוויר.

התיעוד הזה עלה לאחר מותו על ידי חבריו באינסטגרם שבו כינו אותו שהיד וגם הודו… pic.twitter.com/iNjlY19fyS

— איתי בלומנטל 🇮🇱 Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) June 23, 2026

Last September, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans Frontières – RSF), another NGO dedicated to press freedom, accused Israel of 43% of journalist deaths during 2024 and 2025, stating, “Nearly half (43%) of the journalists slain in the past 12 months were killed in Gaza by Israeli armed forces.”

In December 2025, RSF reported, “To justify its crimes, the Israeli military has mounted a global propaganda campaign to spread baseless accusations that portray Palestinian journalists as terrorists.” 

The Israeli government denies targeting journalists, saying that many of the Palestinian journalists killed during the Oct. 7 Gaza War were members of militant terror groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

The steady release of death notices in recent months has confirmed Israel's argument, with many announcements identifying the deceased by military rank and role, and including photos showing them in uniform or carrying weapons.

Previous studies by Israeli organizations had already provided evidence to support Israel's position. In November, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center released a report stating that approximately 60% of journalists killed in Gaza “were members of, or affiliated with, terrorist organizations, primarily Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).” While that report could not prove that all of those journalists were active combatants, they were able to demonstrate membership in the organizations. 

Other recent death notices have gone further, identifying several of these journalists as members of the military wings of their organizations and specifying their ranks and positions.

For example, Ahmed Abu Eisha, was a journalist working for PIJ-affiliated Palestine Today TV. However, on June 1, PIJ posted a death notice for Abu Eisha on its Telegram channel, listing him as a platoon commander for its Central Intelligence unit. 

🧵PIJ just admitted Ahmed Abu Eisha was a platoon commander POSING AS A JOURNALIST. Hamas & PIJ systematically use press vests for combat cover & media manipulation. The IDF was doubted, but now proven right. @pressfreedom—yet another one to remove. TEN more recent examples: 1/ pic.twitter.com/OckrD8hBGC

— Aizenberg (@Aizenberg55) June 4, 2026

Under international law, journalists are generally protected civilians during armed conflict, even when they work for media outlets affiliated with a belligerent party. However, if the journalist engages in “direct participation in the hostilities,” that protection is lost. 

“According to the Commentary of Article 51.3, ‘direct participation in the hostilities' means ‘acts of war which by their nature or purpose are likely to cause actual harm to the personnel and equipment of the enemy armed forces.’” 

The definition includes intelligence-gathering activities intended to support attacks on enemy forces. However, despite PIJ identifying Abu Eisha as a member of its military intelligence unit, CPJ continues to list him as a journalist killed in the conflict.

In recent weeks, CPJ has quietly removed several Palestinians from its list of journalists after militant groups identified them by military rank and position in posthumous announcements.

Another example is Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, whose death along with several other journalists was reported by the BBC network. He was later revealed to be a PIJ platoon commander in its central operations unit. 

May 20: Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali was outed as a PIJ commander posing as a journalist, one of 5 claimed "journalists" killed that day. This was a widely covered IDF attack that fueled claims that Israel not only killed journalists, but targeted them. That narrative has collapsed. 4/ pic.twitter.com/D2wPQp5Iuo

— Aizenberg (@Aizenberg55) June 4, 2026

Israeli NGO HonestReporting has published several reports on journalists later identified as members of militant groups, including combatants. In a February report, the organization echoed the findings of the Meir Amit investigation, stating that about 60% of the journalists killed by the IDF in Gaza were affiliated with recognized terrorist organizations.