Key Takeaways:
- Reporters Without Borders removed another terrorist from its slain Gazan journalist database, becoming the fifth to have been struck off without explanation.
- UNESCO added an addendum to terrorists on its list of Gazan media workers, but failed to remove them or clarify the issues with the information that they had supplied.
- The changes in the database come after the Committee to Protect Journalists removed another 19 terrorists from its list, and the IDF issued a report about 170 terrorists passed off as journalists.
The narrative that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deliberately targeted Gazan journalists during the October 7 War has continued to crumble as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and UNESCO have made modifications to their casualty databases as more information has come to light about the terrorism affiliations of supposed media workers.
RSF’s Silent Removal of Terrorists
Without explanation, RSF removed Al-Rai radio’s Assem Al-Barsh from its world journalism abuses Barometer sometime since August 30, bringing the number of Gazan media workers it has removed from its database since June 21 to five.
Al-Barsh was announced by Hamas on August 26 to have been a fighter in the Northern Brigade’s Martyr Imad Aqel Battalion. The Hamas operative had been removed from the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Gazan journalist database with its September 24 audit, for being a combatant.
His brother Hashem Adly Al-Barsh was also a confirmed Hamas Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operative, and two other brothers were described alongside Assem as being “mujahideen.” His father is the director general of Holy Quran radio, a Hamas-affiliated outlet.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) removed Al-Barsh’s relative, Namaa Radio general manager Moussa Al-Barsh, sometime between July 27 and August 16. He had been killed in the same airstrike that had critically wounded his brother, Naama Radio executive director and Hamas terrorist Yacoup Al-Barsh. Assem had a program on Namaa Radio, which was controlled by the family.
Assem Al-Barsh was the subject of a December 2023 International Criminal Court (ICC) criminal complaint filed by RSF, and it is unknown whether the complaint has been withdrawn or revised. Two other terrorists that had been the subjects of criminal complaints were Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives Mohamed Nasr Abu Huwaidi and Muhammad Mahmoud Abu Sharia.
The remaining two terrorists that were removed without explanation by RSF were Hamas operatives Mohammad Jarghoun and Mohammed Abu Matar. Abu Matar had been the most recent to be removed, with his name disappearing sometime before August 30.
UNESCO’s Vague Notes
Information about Al-Barsh had been altered in another Gazan media worker list. Among the organizations that have created databases of slain Gazan journalists, UNESCO has been the most reticent to alter its materials, but an addendum has been added to six entries by October 2.
“This entry reflects the information available in the verification criteria applicable at the time of the Director-General’s original statement,” read a note added to Al-Barsh’s profile on the UNESCO Observatory of Killed Journalists. “Subsequently, recognised specialised sources underpinning the original assessment materially revised their information concerning this case. In accordance with UNESCO’s working method, this subsequent development is reflected in the present note.”
Abu Huwaidi, Abu Matar, Jarghoun, Hamas operative Mohammed Manhal Abu Armana, and PIJ operative Hilmi Al-Faqaawi had the same note added to their profiles. The vague note does not specify that new information has indicated that the six men featured by UNESCO were terrorists, and the profiles still describe them as journalists. All six had previously had condemnations of their killing issued by UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay.
A Crumbling Narrative
While the new UNESCO and RSF concessions appear minor, they are part of a broader development in the narrative that Israel deliberately targeted Gazan media workers.
The IDF published on Thursday a database of 170 journalists that it alleged were actually terrorists. Several dozen of the terrorists had been identified by terrorist organizations in martyr posters, but the IDF released fragments of recovered Gazan documents identifying dozens more.
The Thursday prior, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published the results of an internal review, and consequently removed 19 terrorists from its database, including Al-Barsh. An HonestReporting audit of the updated database found that over half of the listed individuals had ties to terrorism.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
