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

Israel Defense Forces Refutes Accusations of Targeting Journalists in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued a statement countering reports that the Israeli military deliberately attacks journalists in Gaza. The IDF argues that those who have been identified as journalists in the media are, in fact, members of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), or other designated terrorist groups.

In a release posted on its official website, the IDF said the individuals who claimed to work for news outlets “presented themselves as legitimate media professionals while serving terrorist organizations that regularly use propaganda and psychological warfare.” The statement added that “journalists are expected to report the unbiased truth,” but that the people in question had “concealed a fundamental truth about themselves: their own roles within military wings of terrorist organizations.”

The IDF maintains that attacking bona fide journalists would violate international law, but it says that many reports misrepresent the reality on the ground. To investigate the matter, the IDF conducted an “in‑depth investigation based on a wide range of intelligence sources, including open‑source information, documents gathered in the field, and interrogations of military operatives by Israeli intelligence bodies.”

The investigation identified 170 individuals who the IDF says served as journalists while also holding positions in militant organizations. For each person, the IDF lists the news outlet they claimed to be affiliated with—some of which are Western media outlets—alongside the terrorist organization they allegedly served. The list includes:

According to the IDF, 118 of the 170 alleged operatives were members of Hamas, 49 were affiliated with the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, one was linked to a lesser‑known group called the Lords of the Desert Terrorist Organization, and two were tied to the Popular Resistance Committees. All 170 individuals have since been killed.

The IDF also noted that at least 17 of the 170 names belong to people who infiltrated Israel during the October 7, 2023 attack. That assault, which began with a large-scale incursion by Hamas militants, resulted in the deaths of roughly 1,200 people—many of them Israeli civilians—and the capture of over 250 hostages. The attack included mass killings at a music festival, home massacres, and other atrocities that the IDF and many observers have described as the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

“Over the past several months, a recurring pattern has been identified in which Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations published information indicating, after the fact, that some of those killed who had been presented to the world as journalists and media personnel were in fact military operatives in the military wings of terrorist organizations,” an IDF official said in a Fox News Digital interview. “This information emerged after the false narrative that the IDF deliberately targets journalists had already taken hold internationally.”

The official went on to explain that the “narrative became one of the most frequently cited arguments against Israel,” appearing in reports by international media outlets, human‑rights organizations, international institutions, and politicians. According to the IDF, these reports failed to distinguish between journalists who were conducting their professional duties and those who were simultaneously serving as combatants or propaganda officers for militant groups.

The IDF’s findings also reveal that several of the individuals it identifies as terrorist operatives masquerading as journalists have previously been honored by Reporters Without Borders, named in complaints to the International Criminal Court, and cited by United Nations bodies in statements condemning Israel.

While the IDF maintains that its actions against Hamas and PIJ are guided by the laws of war, it insists that its operations have not targeted legitimate journalists. The ministry says that any claims of such attacks are based on misinformation that has “misled the public” and that the IDF remains committed to upholding international norms in its conduct of hostilities.

The international community continues to scrutinize Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, and the debate over the role of media in conflict zones remains a contentious issue. The IDF’s latest statement is part of a broader effort to clarify the nature of the conflict and to counter allegations that it has violated the protections afforded to journalists under international humanitarian law.