IDF Says 170 Killed in Gaza Were Terror Operatives, Not Journalists
The Israel Defense Forces has published an investigation identifying 170 individuals presented as journalists in Gaza as alleged military operatives in Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups, pushing back against claims that it deliberately targets media personnel.
The Israel Defense Forces has pushed back against allegations that it deliberately targets journalists in Gaza, publishing an investigation that identifies 170 individuals presented to the world as media professionals as alleged military operatives in Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations.
The military said the individuals «presented themselves as legitimate media professionals while serving terrorist organizations that regularly use propaganda and psychological warfare.» It added that «journalists are expected to report the unbiased truth,» yet these individuals «concealed a fundamental truth about themselves: their own roles within military wings of terrorist organizations.»
The IDF acknowledged that targeting journalists would constitute a violation of international law but argued that many articles, opinion pieces and reports have misled the public about the identities of those killed. To support its position, the military said it conducted an in-depth investigation drawing on a wide range of intelligence sources, including open-source information, documents gathered in the field and interrogations of military operatives by Israeli intelligence bodies.
According to the findings, 118 of the 170 individuals were operatives in Hamas, 49 belonged to the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one was linked to the Lords of the Desert Terrorist Organization and two to the Popular Resistance Committees. All 170 have been killed. The IDF listed each person alongside the news outlet they claimed to work for, including some Western media organizations, and the terror group they have been linked to.
Among the examples cited, Yaqoub Anan Mohammed Al-Barsh reportedly worked as a journalist for Gaza's Namaa Radio while allegedly serving as a squad commander in the Military Propaganda Department of Hamas. Maysara Ahmed Salah Salah reportedly worked for Quds News Network while allegedly operating as a military operative for Hamas. Many of the 170 are seen in photographs wearing both press badges and holding weapons.
An IDF official said at least 17 of those named took part in the group that infiltrated Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The official also said other alleged terrorists posing as journalists have been honored by Reporters Without Borders, named in complaints to the International Criminal Court and even used by the United Nations to condemn Israel.
«Over the past several months, a recurring pattern has been identified in which the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations published information indicating, after the fact, that some of those killed who had been presented to the world as journalists and media personnel were in fact military operatives in the military wings of terrorist organizations,» the IDF official said. «This information emerged after the false narrative that the IDF deliberately targets journalists had already taken hold internationally.»
The official added that throughout the war this narrative «became one of the most frequently cited arguments against Israel,» appearing in reports by international media outlets, human rights organizations, international institutions and politicians «without distinguishing between journalists carrying out their professional duties and those who simultaneously operated as military operatives in terrorist organizations.»
The Oct. 7 attack launched by Hamas resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, with Israeli civilians among those targeted. Hundreds were killed at an outdoor music festival, others were slaughtered inside their homes, and more than 250 hostages were taken in what was the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
The IDF's decision to publish the list represents a direct challenge to the prevailing international narrative that Israel has intentionally targeted media workers in Gaza. By naming individuals and the outlets they claimed to represent, the military is seeking to reframe the debate around journalist casualties in the conflict, arguing that the distinction between legitimate press and embedded terror operatives has been systematically blurred.
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