Gazan photographers working with international media accompanied Hamas terrorists during Oct. 7 massacre

When Hamas terrorists began their murderous assault against Israel on the morning of Oct. 7, international news wire services like Reuters and Associated Press almost immediately began to publish pictures of the invasion.

According to a report by the investigative website Honest Reporting that was published on Wednesday, this wasn’t just a case of 'dumb luck.'

Instead, freelance journalists from inside Gaza appeared to have accompanied Hamas terrorists and violent civilians during their rampage and were likely informed of the terror group's plan to invade and carry out the brutal attack beforehand.

According to Honest Reporting, this is how media companies like Reuters, the Associated Press, the New York Times, and CNN could publish pictures of burning IDF tanks, crowds of Gazan civilians breaking into Kibbutzim, and Israeli citizens being kidnapped almost in real-time.

For example, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, a freelancer photographer working with Reuters, just happened to be on the scene to take a photo of an Israeli soldier being dragged out of a tank and lynched. The photo was even chosen as one of the “Images of the Day” in Reuter's database.

Hassan Eslaiah, a photographer working with AP, took a phot of himself in front of a destroyed IDF tank inside Israel, posting it on X with a since-deleted tweet: “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements.”

In the hours following our expose, new material is still coming to light concerning Gazan freelance journalist Hassan Eslaiah whom both AP & CNN used on Oct. 7.

Here he is pictured with Hamas leader and mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar. https://t.co/S9pXeIGaFq pic.twitter.com/RmEZU5RsM8

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 8, 2023

Shortly after Honest Reporting’s account was published, an older picture of Eslaiah being kissed by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar surfaced.

Yousef Masoud, who worked with the New York Times and AP, captured photos of several Israelis being kidnapped, among them German-Israeli Shani Louk, who was confirmed to have been murdered.

AP later removed some of the names from the photo credits in their database, possibly in an attempt to cover up their journalistic malpractice.

“Is it conceivable to assume that ‘journalists’ just happened to appear early in the morning at the border without prior coordination with the terrorists? Or were they part of the plan?” the report asked.

The investigation by Honest Reporting raises serious questions about possible knowledge the media outlets had about the attack – either beforehand or very early on Oct. 7.

Because the media outlets received the images coming from the massacre soon after they were captured by the freelancers, many believe that communication between the photojournalists and their respective media outlets must have taken place.

In addition, the freelancers are believed to have ties to the Hamas terror group, and Hamas was not eager to stop them from finding employment with some of the most well-known media outlets in the world.

The Honest Reporting feature also sheds new light on attempted Hamas hoaxes, such as the alleged attack on the al-Ahli hospital, and generally calls into question the accuracy of international media reports from inside the Gaza Strip since Hamas took control in 2006.

Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the emergency war cabinet, reacted to the report on his social media account.

“Journalists found to have known about the massacre, and still chose to stand as idle bystanders while children were slaughtered - are no different than terrorists and should be treated as such,” Gantz wrote on X.

The Government Press Office sent an urgent letter to the bureau chiefs of the media outlets that employed the photographers to seek clarifications on their conduct, "which crosses every red line, professional and moral."

The National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister's Office also demanded "that immediate action be taken."

CNN decided to suspend its ties with Hassan Eslaiah following the report published by Honest Reporting but emphasized that “we have not at this time found reason to doubt the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us.”

AP responded to the report by stating: “The Associated Press had no knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened. The role of the AP is to gather information on breaking news events around the world, wherever they happen, even when those events are horrific and cause mass casualties. AP uses images taken by freelancers around the world, including in Gaza.”