Israeli forces have branded six Gaza-based journalists of Al Jazeera as “terrorists”, accusing them of being part of the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups. The Qatar-based media organization has trashed the allegations as “baseless” and “unfounded”.
The accusations are the latest in Israel’s action against Al Jazeera, whose Ramallah office in the West Bank was stormed by Israeli forces a month ago and ordered to shut for 45 days.
Sharing the names and photographs of the six journalists, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said they have documents that “expose” them as Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives.
“The IDF has disclosed intelligence information and numerous documents found in Gaza confirming military affiliation of six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, including personnel tables, lists of terrorist training courses, phone directories, and salary documents for terrorists,” said the statement posted on X.
The IDF claimed the document prove the “integration of Hamas terrorists within the Qatari Al Jazeera media network.”
“Most of the journalists that the IDF has exposed as operatives in Hamas’ military wing spearhead the propaganda for Hamas at Al Jazeera, especially in northern Gaza,” the IDF post read.
Al Jazeera condemned the allegations in a strongly worded statement and called it part of their “wider pattern of hostility” towards the media organisation that’s covering the war in Gaza.
“The Network views these fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide,” the statement read.
The Qatari media outlet said the Israeli claims follow a recent expose by Al Jazeera on the “potential war crimes” committed by Israeli forces during the Gaza war.
“Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence. The Network asserts that its journalists are merely fulfilling their professional duties, documenting and reporting on the devastating impact of the war on the Strip’s two million civilians,” said Al Jazeera.
The statement also pointed to reports on media workers allegedly killed by Israeli forces during the ongoing war and asserted its commitment to “bring the truth to light” in the Gaza region.
