The Israeli army on Wednesday made serious allegations against six Al Jazeera journalists, claiming they are current or former paid fighters for Palestinian militant groups.
Al Jazeera swiftly dismissed these accusations as “fabricated” and indicative of a broader “hostility” toward the network.
The Israeli military cited documents it reportedly uncovered in Gaza, along with other intelligence, to support its claims, stating that four of the journalists are linked to Hamas and two to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
According to Israel, the journalists—who are all Palestinian men—held various roles, including sniper, infantry soldier, fighter, captain, training coordinator, and propaganda specialist.
Al Jazeera condemned these assertions as a “blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region” and emphasized that the accusations aim to obscure the war’s harsh realities from global audiences.
Al Jazeera, funded by the energy-rich state of Qatar, has often found itself at the center of controversy, especially given Qatar’s connections to Hamas and its role in cease-fire negotiations alongside the United States and Egypt.
Among the journalists accused are Anas al-Sharif, Hossam Shabat, Ismael Abu Omar, and Talal Arrouki, all of whom were implicated in affiliations with Hamas. Ashraf Saraj and Alaa Salameh were reportedly tied to Islamic Jihad.
The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement criticizing Israel for its unproven claims, highlighting that this was not the first time such allegations were made without credible evidence.
They noted a previous incident in July when two Al Jazeera journalists, including Ismail Al Ghoul, were killed in an Israeli airstrike, after which Israel produced a document containing contradictions about Al Ghoul’s military ranking.
The ongoing conflict has seen militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad collaborating against Israeli forces in Gaza since last year, following an attack that resulted in significant casualties and hostages.
Israel had previously accused 12 employees of a U.N. agency of involvement in the same attack, leading to the dismissal of at least 21 staffers by UNRWA, which plays a critical role in providing essential services to civilians in Gaza.
Over the past year, four Al Jazeera journalists have lost their lives due to Israeli strikes in Gaza, and each was later accused by Israel of ties to Hamas or Islamic Jihad, claims that Al Jazeera has consistently rejected.
In May, Israeli authorities ordered the closure of Al Jazeera’s operations within Israel, marking a significant escalation in their attempts to curb the network’s influence.
The police conducted a raid on the hotel from which Al Jazeera was broadcasting, making it the first instance of Israel shutting down a foreign news outlet.
In September, Israeli forces also raided the network’s office in Ramallah, forcing it to shut down its operations there.
The journalists named in the recent accusations, including al-Sharif, have gained substantial recognition through Al Jazeera’s continuous live coverage of the Gaza conflict, achieving celebrity-like status among Palestinians and in various Middle Eastern nations.
As one of the few news organizations still actively reporting from the besieged enclave, Al Jazeera remains a critical source of information amid the ongoing crisis.
The documents and intelligence Israel released purportedly detail the ranks, roles, enlistment dates, and battalions of the six journalists.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 128 journalists have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since last October, including 123 Palestinians, two Israelis, and three Lebanese.
Since the onset of the conflict, Israeli military actions have resulted in over 42,000 Palestinian fatalities in Gaza, according to the local health ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians but claims that more than half of those killed are women and children.
Tensions between Al Jazeera and Israel have been fraught for years. The 2022 killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist, by Israeli forces while she was covering a story in the West Bank heightened these tensions.
Criticism of Al Jazeera extends beyond Israel; the U.S. government has also targeted the broadcaster, particularly during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and for airing videos from the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Additionally, various Middle Eastern governments have previously shut down or restricted Al Jazeera’s operations, including during the Egyptian protests against President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
