IDF says 170 Gazans previously identified as journalists were Hamas or Islamic Jihad terrorists

The Israeli military said on Thursday that 170 Palestinians killed in Gaza during the war who had been identified as journalists were members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) or other terrorist organizations.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the identities and affiliations of the individuals using documentation belonging to the terrorist organizations that Israeli forces recovered during military operations in Gaza.

Israel has faced growing international accusations that it has targeted journalists in Gaza during its war against Hamas.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that “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.”

Israel has also challenged the identification of some of those killed in Gaza as journalists, citing evidence that they were members of Hamas or PIJ.

In December 2023, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) referred to Asem Adli Ahmed al-Barsh, whom Israel identified as a Hamas terrorist, as a journalist for the Palestinian Al-Rai Radio in a complaint against Israel submitted to the International Criminal Court. RSF accused Israel of deliberately attacking civilian journalists but did not mention an alleged Hamas affiliation in its complaint.

RSF similarly listed Mohammed Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Abu Sharia, whom Israel identified as a PIJ sniper, as a journalist for SHAMS News Agency in a 2025 memorial for journalists killed in conflicts. In 2024, then-UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay criticized Israel over the killing of Mohammed Manhal Ahmed Abu Armana, whom Israel identified as the commander of the Hamas Rafah Brigade's propaganda department.

The IDF said the 170 individuals it identified as terrorist operatives had worked for outlets including Palestine Now news agency, Reuters and Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency, and had served as trainers, snipers and propaganda operatives. Some, the IDF said, participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups have also included individuals identified as journalists on lists of their members killed during the war. Some studies have estimated that up to 60% of journalists reported killed in Gaza had ties to Hamas or other terrorist organizations.

Separately, Gaza-based journalist Motaz Azaiza said in a podcast interview last month that he had withheld footage showing Israeli hostages being abused during the October 7 attack because he did not want to “ruin the lives” of those filmed. Azaiza said he believed Israel could use the footage to identify and “eliminate” people who participated in the attack.

Last month, Qatar's Al Jazeera fired 24 alleged journalists following a lawsuit that alleged links between the journalists and Hamas and PIJ.