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

Investigating the claims about Gazan journalists since October 7th — I'll gather the casualty counts and affiliation evidence to check whether a majority had ties to terrorist groups.

According to Israeli military and intelligence-affiliated research, yes - a majority were found to have ties to terrorist organizations.

> determined that of the 266 Palestinians identified as journalists or media personnel killed in Gaza from October 7, 2023, to November 30, 2025, approximately 60%—at least 157 individuals—were affiliated with terrorist organizations, primarily Hamas (104 cases, including 47 confirmed military operatives)

> The study examined 266 media workers reported killed between Oct. 7, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2025, and found that 157 were members of or affiliated with terror groups. At least 47 belonged to Hamas's military wing and 45 were linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including 18 confirmed operatives.

The institute said it cross-referenced names from a list published by Hamas' government information office with Palestinian media reports and with Hamas documents the IDF says it found, and that methodology was examining Arabic-language social media, Telegram channels, mourning notices, funeral footage, organizational statements and claims of responsibility.

The findings described roles including combat, command, or propaganda duties.

The 60% figure traces to this analysis which concluded at least 157 were members of terror groups, including 104 tied to Hamas and 45 to Islamic Jihad.

> In a months-long investigation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified dozens of individuals presented as journalists and media personnel who were in fact serving within terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including 118 members of Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, 49 members of Islamic Jihad, two members of the Popular Resistance Committees and one member of the Mujahideen Brigades.

> 118 of the 170 individuals were identified by the IDF as members of Hamas's military wing, while 49 were identified as members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The IDF said evidence includes internal documents produced by the terrorist organizations themselves, records recovered by Israeli troops inside Gaza, photographs and other intelligence material, and that 17 individuals on the list even took part in the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In October 2026 the IDF separately published a database identifying 170 deceased Gazans who had been presented as journalists or media personnel whom it said served in the military wings of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees, or the Mujahideen Brigades.

CPJ launched a review after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad published obituaries identifying some people listed as journalists as members of armed groups and ultimately removed 22 people from its list, including some it found had participated in combat. CPJ previously removed 8 names established to be Hamas or PIJ operatives.

Press-freedom organizations continue to dispute the Israeli characterization, noting CPJ requires evidence of active combat or incitement to remove a name and considers journalists affiliated with non-state actors remain civilians under international humanitarian law as long as they do not directly participate in hostilities, and that in-person verification has been impossible since Israel barred independent international correspondents from Gaza. The UK's Telegraph reported dozens of Palestinians identified by the BBC as journalists killed had ties to Hamas, while watchdogs like HonestReporting claim more than half the remaining CPJ list still have terrorist connections — claims not independently verified by outside press-freedom groups.