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

Whether a majority of the Gazan journalists killed since October 7, 2023, were linked to terrorist organizations is a subject of intense dispute. The answer largely depends on which data is analyzed, how a "link" to a terrorist group is defined, and whether the evidence presented is considered credible.

•The Israeli government and military (IDF) claim that a majority (roughly 60%) of the killed journalists were members of or closely affiliated with terrorist groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

•International press freedom organizations (such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the UN) strongly reject this claim. While these organizations have audited their databases and removed a small number of individuals (roughly 10%) confirmed to have had active combat roles, they maintain that the vast majority of the hundreds of killed media workers were legitimate civilian journalists.

Below is an overview of the arguments, evidence, and definitions presented by both sides.

The Israeli Perspective and Claims

The Israeli military and pro-Israel monitoring groups argue that Hamas systematically uses journalistic credentials as cover for military and propaganda operations.

•The "Press Files" Database: In October 2026, the IDF launched an online database identifying 170 Palestinians killed in Gaza who had been presented to the world as journalists, but whom the military identified as active members of terror groups. According to the IDF, 118 of these individuals were active in Hamas's military wing, 49 in PIJ, and three in other factions. The military stated that 17 of these individuals had actively participated in the October 7, 2023 attacks.

•The Meir Amit Reports: The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (an Israeli think tank with close ties to the military) published studies auditing the casualties. Their December 2025 report analyzed 266 individuals identified as "journalists and media personnel" killed in Gaza and concluded that roughly 60% were members of or affiliated with terrorist organizations. The report alleged many had "double roles" as both military operatives and media workers.

•HonestReporting Audits: Pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting conducted its own audits of international casualty lists, claiming that over half of the names on the lists compiled by press freedom groups had documented ties to terrorist organizations. They pointed to "martyr posters" issued by Hamas or PIJ after their deaths, or their employment at news outlets directly operated by those factions.

The Press Freedom and Independent Watchdog Perspective

International journalist organizations and human rights watchdogs accuse Israel of using broad, unverified, and sometimes fabricated allegations of terrorism to justify the killing of media workers and to blunt global outrage.

•The CPJ Database Audits: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) conducts independent, rigorous investigations into every journalist's death. In late 2026, following the publication of obituaries by Hamas and PIJ identifying some slain individuals as combatants, the CPJ conducted an internal review. Consequently, CPJ removed 19 individuals from its list of killed journalists because they were verified to have taken on active combatant roles. This adjustment, however, represented less than 10% of their database of more than 190 killed Palestinian journalists. CPJ maintained that the remaining vast majority of those killed were legitimate civilian journalists.

•Conflating Employment with Combat: A major point of contention is how a "link" to a terrorist group is defined. Many of the killed media workers were employed by local Gazan outlets, such as the Al-Aqsa media network, which is Hamas-run and funded. Under international humanitarian law, working for a state-run or politically affiliated media outlet does not make a journalist a combatant or a legitimate military target unless they are actively participating in hostilities. Human rights groups argue that the IDF routinely conflates institutional employment or political sympathy with military membership to justify their targeting.

•The "Legitimization Cell" and Dubious Evidence: Independent investigations have raised serious doubts about the credibility of the IDF's evidence. A joint investigation by the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call and +972 Magazine revealed the existence of a secret Israeli military intelligence unit, dubbed the "legitimization cell," tasked with finding or finding-after-the-fact purported links between killed Gazan journalists and Hamas. Organizations like Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have noted several logical inconsistencies in the IDF's dossiers. For example, in the case of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, the IDF claimed he received a Hamas military rank in 2007—a year when al-Ghoul would have been only ten years old. Other files in the IDF's database have been criticized by independent observers for containing empty pages, uncorroborated assertions, or photos showing individuals merely standing near the border fence on October 7.

Conclusion

While independent press watchdogs have confirmed that a small minority of individuals previously listed as journalists were indeed combatants and subsequently removed them from professional casualty databases, independent international observers, the United Nations, and major press freedom groups do not accept the claim that a majority of the Gazan journalists killed since October 7, 2023, were linked to terrorist organizations. They argue that the IDF's statistics rely on a definition of "linked" that conflates civilian employment with military combat, supported by intelligence dossiers that have not been independently verified.

Citations (17)

1jewishinsider.comNews and media
jewishinsider.com
Backs: “Whether a majority of the Gazan journalists killed since October 7, 2023, were linked to terrorist organizations is a subject of intense dispute.”
2youtube.comSocial media and video
youtube.com
Backs: “The answer largely depends on which data is analyzed, how a "link" to a terrorist group is defined, and whether the evidence presented is considered credible.”
3newarab.comNews and media
newarab.com
Backs: “The answer largely depends on which data is analyzed, how a "link" to a terrorist group is defined, and whether the evidence presented is considered credible.”
4thejc.comNews and mediaquality 0.51
thejc.com
Backs: “The Israeli government and military (IDF) claim that a majority (roughly 60%) of the killed journalists were members of or closely affiliated with terrorist groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).”
5timesofisrael.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
timesofisrael.com
Backs: “The Israeli government and military (IDF) claim that a majority (roughly 60%) of the killed journalists were members of or closely affiliated with terrorist groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).”
6ifj.orgNot yet classified
ifj.org
Backs: “International press freedom organizations (such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the UN) strongly reject this claim.”
7theguardian.comNews and mediaquality 0.75
theguardian.com
Backs: “International press freedom organizations (such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the UN) strongly reject this claim.”
8aipac.orgNonprofits and think tanks
aipac.org
Backs: “The Israeli military and pro-Israel monitoring groups argue that Hamas systematically uses journalistic credentials as cover for military and propaganda operations.”
9wfmd.comNot yet classified
wfmd.com
Backs: “The Israeli military and pro-Israel monitoring groups argue that Hamas systematically uses journalistic credentials as cover for military and propaganda operations.”
10wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “The Meir Amit Reports: The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (an Israeli think tank with close ties to the military) published studies auditing the casualties.”
11terrorism-info.org.ilNonprofits and think tanks
terrorism-info.org.il
Backs: “Their December 2025 report analyzed 266 individuals identified as "journalists and media personnel" killed in Gaza and concluded that roughly 60% were members of or affiliated with terrorist organizations.”
12honestreporting.comNonprofits and think tanks
honestreporting.com
Backs: “HonestReporting Audits: Pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting conducted its own audits of international casualty lists, claiming that over half of the names on the lists compiled by press freedom groups had documented ties to terrorist organizations.”
13honestreporting.comNonprofits and think tanks
honestreporting.com
Backs: “HonestReporting Audits: Pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting conducted its own audits of international casualty lists, claiming that over half of the names on the lists compiled by press freedom groups had documented ties to terrorist organizations.”
14theguardian.comNews and mediaquality 0.75
theguardian.com
Backs: “International journalist organizations and human rights watchdogs accuse Israel of using broad, unverified, and sometimes fabricated allegations of terrorism to justify the killing of media workers and to blunt global outrage.”
15time.comNews and mediaquality 0.83
time.com
Backs: “International journalist organizations and human rights watchdogs accuse Israel of using broad, unverified, and sometimes fabricated allegations of terrorism to justify the killing of media workers and to blunt global outrage.”
16rsf.orgNonprofits and think tanks
rsf.org
Backs: “A joint investigation by the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call and +972 Magazine revealed the existence of a secret Israeli military intelligence unit, dubbed the "legitimization cell," tasked with finding or finding-after-the-fact purported links between killed Gazan journalists and Hamas.”
17972mag.comNews and mediaquality 0.84
972mag.com
Backs: “Other files in the IDF's database have been criticized by independent observers for containing empty pages, uncorroborated assertions, or photos showing individuals merely standing near the border fence on October 7.”