Were a majority of the Gazan journalists killed since October 7th, 2023 linked to terrorist organizations?

This is a highly contested claim with significant disagreement between Israeli sources and press freedom organizations/Palestinian groups. Here's what the evidence shows:

The claim of a "majority"

The claim originates primarily from Israeli sources. A study by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center examined the identities of 266 individuals identified as journalists or media workers killed in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and November 30, 2025, finding that at least 157 of them — roughly 60 percent — were members of terror groups or clearly affiliated with them, including 104 linked to Hamas and 45 to Islamic Jihad.

Separately, the IDF released its own database claiming identifying 170 Palestinians killed during the Gaza war who it claims were at one point members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations — despite being members of the media or journalists, including 17 individuals whom the IDF said participated directly in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks.

Significant pushback and disputes

However, this claim is strongly contested:

Methodology criticism: A Palestinian researcher who reviewed the IDF's list found that in 59 cases, the IDF did not provide any evidence for its claim that a journalist was a member of Hamas or PIJ other than that the claim was "based on multiple intelligence sources," and in at least seven cases, the only evidence provided was photos of slain journalists holding guns, while in another 12 cases, the IDF provided undated photos of journalists allegedly taking part in Hamas or PIJ military activities.

Journalist associations reject the claims: The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate has condemned the Israeli claims as part of what it described as a "systematic campaign" to undermine the professional standing of Palestinian journalists, saying the journalists and media workers killed had been engaged in documented journalistic work for local, Arab and international organisations or as independent reporters.

Pattern of unproven allegations: Al Jazeera and press freedom groups have pointed to cases where Israel's claims lacked evidence. For example, regarding one slain correspondent, Israel had said he was a member of Hamas and later released an apparently fabricated document as supposed evidence, which claimed he received a Hamas military rank in 2007 — when he would have been 10 years old. This pattern has occurred before — in 2018, Israel's defense minister alleged a slain Gaza photojournalist was a Hamas operative, but provided no evidence to support his allegations, and Israel's military said it was still investigating and was not able to confirm the claims.

Institutional response: The controversy has prompted the Committee to Protect Journalists to act — CPJ is conducting a full review of its database of journalists killed during the Israel-Hamas War after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published obituaries identifying as combatants individuals previously listed by CPJ as journalists.

Bottom line

There is no independently verified consensus that a majority of journalists killed in Gaza were linked to terrorist organizations. The "60% majority" figure comes specifically from an Israeli think tank (Meir Amit Center) and the IDF itself — parties directly implicated in the killings and with an institutional interest in justifying them. Independent reviewers have found serious evidentiary gaps in many individual cases (undated photos, unsubstantiated "intelligence" claims, and at least one apparently fabricated document). At the same time, some cases—particularly involving a few high-profile Al Jazeera correspondents—have drawn more substantive scrutiny and dispute even from critics of Israel's broader claims. Major press freedom organizations (CPJ, RSF) have historically classified the vast majority of the dead as civilian journalists, though CPJ has since opened a review process in light of new claims. The honest answer is that this remains an unresolved, highly politicized dispute rather than an established fact.