The IDF said Thursday that 170 individuals killed in Gaza and presented as civilian journalists were affiliated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations.
According to the military, their identities and organizational ties were verified through documents published by the terror groups themselves, as well as materials recovered by Israeli troops during operations in Gaza.
The IDF also launched a website compiling its findings, seeking to counter accusations that Israeli forces deliberately target civilian journalists.
Earlier Thursday, the military highlighted ten individuals it identified as Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives who also worked in media. According to the IDF, their roles included serving as snipers, commanders, trainers and propaganda operatives.
Some worked for outlets including Reuters, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency and Palestine Now News Agency. The military said some of the individuals it identified also infiltrated Israel and participated in the October 7 massacre.
The findings include several people whose deaths were cited in international complaints, condemnations and memorials concerning journalists killed in Gaza.
Among them was Asem Adli Ahmed al-Barsh, who was described as a journalist for Palestinian Al-Rai Radio and named in a December 2023 complaint submitted by Reporters Without Borders to the International Criminal Court. The IDF identified him as a Hamas terrorist.
The complaint accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilian journalists without identifying Barsh as a Hamas operative.
Another individual, Mohammed Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Abu Sharia, was included in a Reporters Without Borders memorial honoring journalists killed between June 2024 and June 2025. The IDF identified him as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper who also reportedly worked for Shams News Agency.
The military also identified Mohammed Manhal Ahmed Abu Armana as the commander of the Hamas Rafah Brigade’s propaganda department. His death was condemned in 2024 by then-UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
A number of those identified by the IDF also appeared in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ database of journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since 2023.
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