Last October 7, Hamas executed a well-planned attack on Israel. This attack had been carefully prepared for years by people connected to Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza. Some of these people also praised Adolf Hitler on social media and were very anti-Semitic, meaning they strongly hated Jewish people and wanted to destroy Israel.
Hamas called their attack plan “Jericho Wall.” It included details like how many fighters would be involved and even involved reporters who were ready to join and broadcast the attack in real-time. These reporters worked for major media outlets where many Americans get their news.
Hamas learned from other terror groups like Hezbollah how to manipulate, or control, the media to spread their message. They knew they couldn’t defeat the Israeli military easily, so they focused on using the media to change public opinion around the world.
For example, Al Jazeera, a major news network funded by Qatar, employed people who were also part of Hamas. One of them even taught young fighters how to fire missiles. Some of these reporters joined the Hamas force that invaded Israel on October 7.
Several major news outlets, including the Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times, have hired or used photos from these journalists. Media watchdog groups have raised concerns about how some photographers were able to be in Israel so early on the day of the attack, suggesting they might have had prior knowledge.
For instance, a photojournalist named Hassan Eslaiah, who worked for AP and CNN, had close ties to Hamas. Another photographer, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, bragged about participating in the attack.
Some state attorneys general in the U.S. are urging these media companies to do a better job of checking the backgrounds of the people they hire to avoid supporting terror groups. However, despite these warnings, many media outlets continue to hire people from Gaza without fully investigating their connections to terrorist organizations.