Israel Accuses 6 Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza of Belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad
The Qatari channel denies the Israeli accusations, warning that they could be a pretext to target its correspondents.
The Israeli army accused six Palestinians in Gaza working as journalists for Al Jazeera on Wednesday of belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) or Islamic Jihad, a claim rejected by the Qatari network, which described it as “an attempt to silence journalists’ voices.”
In a statement, the network said, “These accusations are part of a systematic series of attacks by Israeli authorities against it,” warning that “these claims could be used as a pretext to target its correspondents.”
The Israeli army published documents it said were found in Gaza, proving that the men had military affiliations with both groups. The documents reportedly included lists detailing members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements, their salaries, training courses for fighters, a phone directory, and injury reports.
It added, “These documents serve as evidence of Hamas terrorists being integrated into the Qatari Al Jazeera media network.” The channel, however, responded that “these fabricated accusations are just another attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the area and to conceal the atrocities being committed there.”
Israel has long accused Al Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for Hamas. Last year, Israeli authorities ordered the network’s operations to shut down for security reasons, raided its offices, and confiscated its equipment.
Al Jazeera claims that Israel’s actions against it are repressive and irresponsible, asserting that it does not belong to any armed groups. The network has also accused Israeli forces of deliberately killing several of its journalists during the Gaza war, including Samer Abu Daqa and Hamza Al-Dahdouh. Israel says it does not target journalists.
Qatar established Al Jazeera in 1996, seeing the network as a tool to enhance its global standing. In addition to Egypt and the United States, Qatar has mediated ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, although talks have reached a deadlock for months.
