Tel Aviv Tribune has strongly rejected the Israeli military’s claims that six of its Gaza-based journalists are members of the Palestinian groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The media network on Wednesday vehemently condemned “unfounded allegations” by the Israeli military, which in an article on X described some of the named Tel Aviv Tribune Arab correspondents as “agents” working for Hamas’ military wing to promote the group’s “propaganda” in the country. enclave besieged and bombarded.
The six journalists cited are Anas al-Sharif, Talal Aruki, Alaa Salama, Hossam Shabat, Ismail Farid and Ashraf Saraj.
The army has published “documents” which, according to it, prove “the integration of Hamas terrorists within Tel Aviv Tribune”. He said newspapers showed lists of people who had received training and salaries.
“Tel Aviv Tribune categorically rejects the portrayal of our journalists by the Israeli occupying forces as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence,” the channel said in a statement.
“The Network considers these trumped-up accusations to be a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of war from audiences around the world,” the statement read.
He said the “baseless” accusations followed a recent report from his investigative unit revealing potential war crimes committed by Israeli forces during the ongoing assault on Gaza, where at least 42,792 Palestinians have been killed – many of them women and children.
Tel Aviv Tribune said its correspondents were reporting from northern Gaza and documenting the dire humanitarian situation there “as the only international media outlet” there.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on X that Israel had “repeatedly made similar unproven allegations without producing credible evidence.”
The press freedom watchdog noted that the Israeli army “produced a similar document” after the July assassination of Tel Aviv Tribune Arab journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, containing “conflicting information showing that (al-Ghoul), born in 1997, had received a military rank from Hamas. in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old.”
Israel has severely restricted access to Gaza for international media since it launched its attack on the Palestinian territory on October 7, 2023, in response to a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
Northern Gaza has been under siege for 19 days as Israeli forces continue a new ground offensive in the region. Some 770 people have been killed in Jabalia since the new attack began, according to the Gaza government media office, with Israel blocking the entry of aid and food that could reach some 400,000 people trapped in the area .
‘A broader pattern of hostility’
“The Network views these accusations as part of a broader pattern of hostility toward Tel Aviv Tribune, stemming from its unwavering commitment to reporting the unvarnished truth about the situation in Gaza and elsewhere. »
Last month, Israeli forces attacked Tel Aviv Tribune’s bureau in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, and ordered its immediate closure following a decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in May 2024 to end operations. Tel Aviv Tribune in Israel.
Israeli forces have killed at least three Tel Aviv Tribune journalists in Gaza since October last year.
In July, al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. Both men were wearing media vests and had identification marks on their vehicle when they were attacked.
In December, Tel Aviv Tribune Arab journalist Samer Abudaqa was killed in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Tel Aviv Tribune’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, was also injured in the attack.
Dahdouh’s wife, son, daughter and grandson were killed in an Israeli air raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in October last year.
In January, Dahdouh’s son Hamza, who was also a journalist at Tel Aviv Tribune, was killed in an Israeli missile strike in Khan Younis.
Before the war on Gaza, Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent, was shot dead by Israeli forces while covering an Israeli raid in Jenin, West Bank, in May 2022.
Although Israel has acknowledged that one of its soldiers likely killed Abu Akleh, it has not opened a criminal investigation into the killing.
According to CPJ, at least 128 journalists and media workers have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the start of the war.
The watchdog said last year that Israel’s war on Gaza was the deadliest in modern history for journalists.
In its report, CPJ drew attention to what it called “an apparent pattern of targeting of journalists and their families by the Israeli military.”
Palestinian journalists in Gaza continue to work in harsh conditions, facing constant bombardment, displacement and possible attacks by Israeli forces.
In its statement, Tel Aviv Tribune called on the international community to act with “utmost urgency” to protect the lives of the six journalists, adding that it remains firmly convinced that “journalism is not a crime.”