Israel revealed on Sunday night that two Palestinian journalists killed in an IDF airstrike were in a vehicle with Hamas terrorists. The reporters were traveling with Hamas as the terrorists transported a weaponized drone.
The Qatari state-owned and pro-Hamas Al Jazeera reported that two of its employees were “assassinated” in the strike in Gaza. The media outlet accused Israel of deliberately targeting the freelance journalists but failed to mention they were operating with Hamas combatants. The claim was repeated by outlets like the New York Times.
The IDF told the AFP news service that it “struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops”, adding that it was “aware of the reports that during the strike, two other suspects who were in the same vehicle as the terrorist were also hit.”
The Biden administration was again quick to blame Israel before having the facts. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it an “unimaginable tragedy” on Sunday in Qatar.
READ: Reporters were embedded with Hamas on Oct. 7
“I am a parent myself, I can’t begin to imagine the horror that he has experienced, not once, but now twice. This is an unimaginable tragedy and that’s also been the case for far too many innocent Palestinian men, women, children,” said the top American diplomat, who was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday.
Since learning that the journalists were embedded with Hamas, Blinken has not retracted his statements or questioned why media outlets continue to use “freelancers” who work closely with terrorists. Al Jazeera and many Western news outlets use “freelance” video journalists who have no formal journalism training and whose ties to Hamas are well-documented. Hamas says dozens of other similar “journalists” have also been killed in Gaza.
In November, controversy erupted when American news outlets were forced to admit their reporters were embedded with Hamas terrorists as they invaded Israel and killed 1,200 civilians. Video showed journalists on motorcycles being driven by Hamas as they entered Israeli communities.
–JNS.com and news services.