IDF pushes back on claim it targets journalists in Gaza, says 170 were part of terror groups, including Hamas

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is pushing back against claims that it purposely targets journalists in Gaza, stating that individuals "presented as innocent journalists" were actually in Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other terrorist organizations."They presented themselves as legitimate media professionals while serving terrorist organizations that regularly use propaganda and psychological warfare," the IDF stated on its website."Journalists are expected to report the unbiased truth," the IDF continued."Yet these individuals concealed a fundamental truth about themselves: their own roles within military wings of terrorist organizations."ISRAELI MEDICAL WORKERS WHO TREATED OCT 7 WOUNDED RELIVE DAY TERROR HIT HOMEHamas launched a war with an unprecedented Oct.

7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.(Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)The IDF noted that targeting journalists is a violation of international law, but said that many articles, opinion pieces and reports have misled the public.As a result, the IDF launched an "in-depth investigation based on a wide range of intelligence sources, including open-source information, documents gathered in the field, interrogations of military operatives by Israeli intelligence bodies," to determine that claims the group violated international law do not tell the full story.The IDF listed 170 alleged military operatives who were reportedly working as journalists.

For each person, the IDF lists the news outlet where the individual claimed to work, including some Western media organizations, while also listing the terror organization they have been linked to.For example, a person called Yaqoub Anan Mohammed Al-Barsh reportedly worked as a journalist for Gaza’s Namaa Radio but allegedly also held a position as a squad commander in the Military Propaganda Department of Hamas.MS RACHEL CALLS GAZA JOURNALIST ‘FRIEND’ IN RESURFACED CLIP AFTER HE ADMITS HIDING OCT 7 HOSTAGE FOOTAGEThe IDF listed 170 alleged military ...