In an article published on Wednesday, November 8, the website HonestReporting – an organization that criticizes anti-Israel bias in the media – expressed surprise at the fact that “Gaza-based photojournalists working for the Associated Press and Portal news agencies work,” documented the Hamas attack on the morning of October 7th. For HonestReporting, this presence alongside Palestinian Organization fighters “raises serious ethical questions.”
The organization writes: “What were they doing there, so early, on a Saturday morning that would normally have been quiet?” Was it coordinated with Hamas? Did the reputable news outlets that published her photos endorse her presence in enemy territory alongside the invading terrorists? Have photojournalists who freelance for other media outlets, such as CNN and the New York Times, notified those media outlets? Judging by the photos of lynchings, kidnappings and the storming of an Israeli kibbutz, it appears that the border has been crossed not only physically, but also journalistically.”
A publication that was subsequently widely disseminated by numerous official Israeli reports. Starting with the Jewish State’s X account (formerly Twitter), which not only shared the HonestReporting link but also focused on several photographers in a series of posts. And finally: “We have many unanswered questions: Were these “journalists” informed about the attacks and failed to inform the right people? One thing is clear for now: This is a serious violation of journalistic ethics.” In an initial post that has been viewed nearly 900,000 times but has since been deleted, the Israeli account directly accused Western media: “AP, CNN, the New York Times and Portal had journalists on board with Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre.”
Army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said claims : “During my years as an international media spokesperson in Gaza, I had the impression that the Gaza correspondents of major Western media outlets were, at best, controlled by Hamas or, more likely, entirely part of Hamas propaganda.” Much of what “What the world knows about Gaza is based on these charlatans.”
Finally Benny Gantz, former Israeli defense minister, also provided a sounding board for the article as well as heavy innuendo. This actually paved the way for possible reprisals in a context in which, according to RSF, 41 journalists, including 36 Palestinians, have been killed in Gaza since October 7: “If there were journalists who were aware of the massacre, who remained silent and it “Photos taken while children were being massacred are no different from terrorists and should be treated as such.”
A total of six journalists are affected by HonestReporting: Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmoud, Hatem Ali, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa and Yasser Qudih. And about her the news agencies Associated Press (AP) and Portal, which published her pictures from October 7th. Other editorial teams are also quoted in this article because they have occasionally worked with these freelancers since the beginning of the war. This is the case with the New York Times and the American broadcaster CNN.
CheckNews was unable to contact all of the photographers mentioned in this article. But we were able to speak to HonestReporting’s main defendant, journalist Hassan Eslaiah, who works for the American AP and, until recently, for the television network CNN. The Israeli monitoring agency accuses him of crossing the border and taking a photo of a burning Israeli tank and Hamas attackers as they entered the kibbutz of Kfar Aza. The site emphasizes that he was not wearing clothing that would identify him as a journalist.
Rocket fire
Hassan Eslaiah is very active on social networks, where he is followed by hundreds of thousands of people, and published numerous messages on Telegram that allow us to reconstruct his activities on October 7th. He begins posting an initial message at 5:59 a.m. that has no apparent connection to the events that followed. The following numerous articles refer to rocket attacks. Then, at 6:41 a.m., he posted a first video (his name appears as photo credit) with this description: “Rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip and sirens sounded in several regions of the south.” He will then forward numerous videos that have already been posted by the Hamas propaganda was broadcast or images filmed by Israelis showing the attack. At 8:27 a.m., Hassan Eslaiah recorded a live broadcast on Facebook from his cell phone in which he crossed the Israeli border on foot and came face to face with a burning tank.
At 8:29 a.m., he shared a photo of himself next to the same tank on Telegram, stating that he was “live from the Gaza settlements.”
About ten minutes later he drives away on a motorcycle. At 9:24 a.m. he broadcast a first video showing about ten Israelis killed in a room, and then filmed a burning kibbutz at around 9:49 a.m. At 10:20 a.m. he still showed up on a street in Israel and mentioned “dozens.” armed Kassam fighters [soldats du Hamas, ndlr] distributed everywhere. This ends his reporting on the attack. At 1:20 p.m. he reappears in a video in Gaza driving a car. He continues his day documenting the Israeli fire on Gaza, which hits an ambulance at 1:58 p.m.
Hassan Eslaiah, contacted by CheckNews, said he was at his home “in Khan Younes in the Gaza Strip” when the attack began. He claims he was woken up by rocket fire over his house. He says he filmed them from a roof and sent us photos of him on top of a building.
According to the information displayed on the screen, it was approximately 7:25 am. At that time he was still in Gaza. On the other side of the border, the attack began an hour ago. The photographer claims to have contacted AP to tell them something was happening at the border and offered to take pictures. He claims to have had the green light to go there from the American press agency. Contacted by CheckNews, AP said she “did not tell Eslaiah to go to the border.”
Consistent statement
Regarding his civilian clothing, which was criticized by HonestReporting, he explains that he did not know at the time that it was war and that he did not have time to equip himself with a helmet and protective vest. After taking pictures of the rooftops of Khan Younès, he said he went to the border “around 8:30 a.m.” A statement consistent with his publications on social networks.
Internet users also aired a video of him, on a motorcycle. A grenade can be seen on the left side of the screen. It is actually a video posted on his Telegram channel at 8:39 a.m. When asked about this, he explains: “There were three of us on the motorcycle, one of them in the middle was carrying a grenade found in the combat areas.” Note that the beige sleeves of the person holding the grenade do not match the white striped one Match the shirt Hassan Eslaiah wore that day.
In a second round of publications, HonestReporting also accuses him of having ties to Hamas, revealing a photo of him kissing Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip who was elected in February 2017 and is now considered one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack .
This photo was published by Hassan Eslaiah, on own networks, January 9, 2020. When asked about this image, the photographer assures that it was taken in 2018 during a meeting with journalists organized by Hamas. He claims to have “no organizational or military connection to Hamas or other factions.” The old photo that was circulating of me and Yahya Sinwar was thanks to my work as a Palestinian journalist with access to the leaders of various Palestinian factions, and I published it only to prove the authenticity of my journalistic reporting on what was happening within movement is happening in the country and to contribute to the dissemination of my journalistic work.
“No reason to doubt the accuracy”
In a press release published on Thursday, November 9th and also sent to CheckNews, the British news agency Portal “categorically denies having any knowledge of the attack or having integrated journalists into Hamas on October 7th.” She explains that she received images “from two independent photographers from Gaza who were at the border on the morning of October 7 and with whom she had no previous relationship.” According to the agency, “The photos published by Portal were taken two hours after Hamas fired rockets into southern Israel and more than 45 minutes after Israel said gunmen had crossed the border.”
AP, in turn, responded to the criticism in a statement to the Israeli media Ynet. “The Associated Press had no knowledge of the October 7 attacks before they occurred,” she explains. AP’s mission is to gather information about current events around the world, wherever they occur, even when those events are horrific and result in large numbers of lives. AP uses images taken by freelancers around the world, including Gaza.
The CNN channel contacted by CheckNews says it has “been made aware of the article and photo involving Hassan Eslaiah, an independent photojournalist who has worked with a number of international and Israeli media outlets.” Although we have no reason to Because we doubted the journalistic accuracy of the work he had done for us, we decided to cut off all our relations with him. When questioned further on this last point, the broadcaster did not reveal the exact reason for this professional break.
In response to HonestReporting’s allegations against photographer Yousef Masoud, with whom the American newspaper works, a spokesperson for the New York Times wrote to CheckNews: “The allegation that someone at the New York Times was aware of the advance of Hamas -had or allegedly had attacks.” Accompanying Hamas terrorists in the attacks is false and scandalous. It is reckless to make such claims that endanger our journalists on the ground in Israel and Gaza. The Times covered the October 7 attacks and the war extensively with fairness, impartiality and a thorough understanding of the complexities of the conflict.
“The advocacy group HonestReporting has made vague accusations against several independent photojournalists working in Gaza, including Yousef Masoud,” the newspaper’s spokesperson continued. Although Yousef was not working for the Times on the day of the attack, he has done important work for us since then. Honest Reporting’s allegations are based on no evidence. Our review of his work shows that he did what photojournalists always do at major events: document the tragedy as it unfolded.”
“We also want to advocate for independent photojournalists who work in conflict zones and whose work often requires them to put themselves in danger to report first-hand and document important information. “This is the essential role of a free press in times of war,” our interlocutor concludes. We are deeply concerned that unfounded accusations and threats against freelancers endanger them and undermine work that serves the public interest.”
Defending photographers
In its response to CheckNews, Portal defends that its photographers Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa and Yasser Qudih did not accompany Hamas during its massacres, pointing out that the photos were taken more than two hours after the attack began and 45 minutes after the attack Palestinian group fighters crossed the border. “Metadata shows that the first image published by Portal was taken at 8:29 a.m. local time on October 7, two hours after Hamas fired rockets into southern Israel at around 6:30 a.m. local time,” the agency said.
As for the four AP photographers, CheckNews was able to review the metadata of the incriminating images through HonestReporting. The image of a tank was taken by photographer Yousef Masoud at 9:11 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after the Hamas attack began.
In addition, the hostages transported to Gaza by Hamas were photographed aboard a cart by Hatem Ali at 8:32 a.m. Another man captured and lynched aboard a motorcycle in Kfar Aza was photographed at 8:53 a.m.
Of all the images from the above-mentioned photographers that we were able to consult, the earliest photo taken is that of Ali Mahmoud, which shows the body of the German-Israeli Shani Louk in the back of a pickup truck on the way back to Gaza. The timestamp is 7:41 am. The caption indicates that the photo was taken from the Palestinian Territories. We were unable to geolocate this image.