Did Palestinian journalists working for prestigious Western media really “take on board” Hamas on the morning of October 7? This is the accusation made by Israel in high places on Thursday, in tweet posted on the official account of the Jewish State. “The HonestReporting article reveals that three independent journalists working for major media outlets accompanied Hamas terrorists across the border on October 7 and reported on the horrific massacre,” authorities say.
“If there were journalists who knew about the massacre, who remained silent and took photographs while children were killed, they are no different from terrorists, and their punishment will be severe,” Israeli minister Benny threatened Gantz.
It all started with an article published Wednesday on the website of HonestReporting, an organization that tracks anti-Israel bias in the media. The association questioned the presence of photojournalists based in the Gaza Strip “in the early morning in the breached border area.” And he asks the question: “Was this agreed with Hamas? Did the reputable news outlets that published their photographs approve of their presence in enemy territory along with infiltrated terrorists? »
Six journalists implicated
There are six journalists implicated in relation to HonestReporting: Hassan Eslaya, Youssef Masoud, Ali Mahmoud, Hatem Ali, Mohammed Faik Abu Mostafa and Yasser Kudih. And, in turn, the press agencies that published their photographs or more or less regularly requested them: the Reuters and AP press agencies, the American newspaper New York Times and the American channel CNN.
Hassan Eslaya, a “freelancer who also works for CNN,” is accused of entering Israel “without a press vest or helmet,” meaning in civilian clothes, and of taking photographs of Hamas members entering a kibbutz Kfar Azza. In his Facebook posts from October 7, we actually see Hassan Eslaya in a white shirt below in front of a burning Israeli tank.
And the Israeli newspaper Haaretz used one of his photographs to illustrate an article about the massacre carried out in this kibbutz.
There are so many of his posts on Facebook that we can trace him back to the morning of October 7th. At 7:32 a.m. (local time), he posted a video allegedly taken from the roof of a building in Gaza, according to legend. The journalist approaches a white pickup truck carrying armed men in uniform. Another SUV follows them.
Only an hour later, Hassan Eslaya appeared at the border crossing: he filmed Gazans who, like him, were running towards the destroyed fence, and published the video at 8:27. “Live,” the Facebook post indicates. His photograph in front of the burning tank was published three minutes later.
Although there is no evidence that the video was broadcast in real time, as a photojournalist can schedule his publications, we nevertheless see that the sun did rise. However, the Hamas attack on Israel began around 6:30 a.m., at dawn.
Kissed the Hamas leader
We contacted Hassan Eslaya, but he did not respond to our requests. In a conversation with Libération, he explained that he was at home at the beginning of the attack. “in Khan Younes in the Gaza Strip” and that he was awakened by rocket fire over his home. The journalist sent our colleagues his photographs taken on the roof of the building at 7:23 and 7:24 am. Regarding his equipment, Hasan Eslaya stated that he “did not yet know that it was war and that he did not have time to equip himself.”
In addition to the article, HonestReporting also published a photo of him with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The photo was shared by Hassan Eslaya himself. on Twitter January 9, 2020.
In response to a question from Libération about this, the photographer claims that the photo was taken in 2018, during a meeting with journalists organized by Hamas. He claims to have “no organizational or military connection with Hamas or other groups.”
According to him, this “old photo” appeared “because [son] work as a Palestinian journalist with access to leaders of various Palestinian factions.” “I published it only to prove the authenticity of my journalistic reporting on what is happening inside the movement and to help disseminate my journalistic work,” he explains.
AP and CNN end cooperation
On the day the article was published, Hassan Eslaya reacted (in Arabic) on his Twitter account: “I am currently the target of a major provocative campaign in the Jewish media after covering the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Faced with this systematic media provocation against me, I hold the competent authorities responsible and refrain from attacking press groups and local news agencies operating in the Gaza Strip. »
Faced with the seriousness of the allegations, all media outlets involved were very quick to speak out. Unless there is evidence that Hassan Eslaya was aware of the October 7 operations, AP and CNN have decided to stop working with him. “We did not know in advance about the massacre on October 7,” CNN responded to Le Parisien. Hasan Eslaya, a freelance journalist who has worked for us and many other organizations, was not working for the channel on October 7. As of today, we have severed all ties with him. »
For its part, the AP referred us to its press release: “The Associated Press knew nothing about the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened. The first photos obtained by the AP from the independent show were taken more than an hour after the attacks began. Despite this, she adds: “We are no longer working with Hassan Eslaya, who has freelanced from time to time for the AP and other international news agencies in the Gaza Strip.” (…) The AP’s role is to gather information about current events around the world, wherever they occur, even when those events are horrific and result in mass casualties. »
Photos by Shani Luk
Hatem Ali photographed the kidnapping of some of the hostages. Le Parisien’s photo library contains one of his photographs, dated October 7, depicting the kidnapping of an elderly Israeli woman. According to Libération, this photo was taken around 8:30 am.
Of all the photographs Le Parisien was able to see, those of Ali Mahmoud were taken the earliest, marking the time at 7:41 a.m. A photojournalist immortalized the body of German-Israeli Shani Luk lying in the back of a white pickup truck.
“Ali Mahmoud and Hatem Ali were willing to photograph the horrific kidnappings of Israelis in the Gaza Strip,” condemns HonestReporting. If we had not been able to find photographs of Hatem Ali, photographs of Ali Mahmoud would have been taken in the “Palestinian territories”, that is, upon returning from the site of the massacre, the legend indicates.
The New York Times, which is associated with Youssef Massoud, supported the journalists and is concerned about these insinuations: “The accusation that anyone at the New York Times knew in advance about the Hamas attacks or allegedly accompanied Hamas terrorists during these attacks is false. and scandalous. It is reckless to make such accusations, endangering our journalists on the ground in Israel and Gaza,” US media responded to Le Parisien.
“There is no evidence of HonestReporting’s insinuations.”
Indeed, Yousef Massoud’s photographs of Palestinians on an Israeli tank are listed on the AP website as 9:11 a.m., 2 hours and 40 minutes after the attacks began.
“Although Youssef was not working at The Times on the day of the attack, he has done important work for us since then. There is no evidence of HonestReporting’s insinuations, the newspaper representative continued. (…) We also want to protect independent photojournalists working in conflict zones, whose work often requires them to rush into danger to provide first-hand information and document important information. »
In its response, Le Parisien Reuters also denied the possible complicity of two of its photographers, Mohamed Faik Abu Mostafa and Yasser Kudih: “The photographs published by Reuters were taken two hours after Hamas fired rockets into southern Israel and more than 45 minutes later . after Israel said armed men had crossed the border. There were no Reuters journalists at the locations mentioned in the HonestReporting article. »
Source: Le Parisien
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
