Key Takeaways:
- An HonestReporting audit of CPJ’s deceased Gaza journalist database showed that 57% of the individuals had ties to terrorism.
- 25 (12%) had martyr posters and videos issued by terrorist organizations and related bodies
- News outlets have frequently cited the CPJ database as evidence that the IDF was deliberately targeting journalists, but few have issued corrections.
Over half of the Gazan journalists on the Committee to Protect Journalist’s (CPJ) database of October 7 War casualties had ties to terrorism, according to an HonestReporting audit published on Friday.
CPJ maintains a database of 209 Gazan media workers that were killed during the war with Hamas, but a review indicates that 120 of the individuals, or 57%, had terrorist ties.
“Journalists” With Terrorist Martyr Notices
Twenty-five of these individuals have had martyr posters issued by terrorist organizations or related groups, with such notices often providing details such as their unit and roles.
This includes supposed freelance editor and photographer Ahmed Abu Sharia, who was described in a November 2024 notice issued by the Mujahideen Brigades as a field commander for the terrorist organization. Abu Sharia remains on CPJ’s list, as does Abdallah Iyad Breis. Breis reportedly led the photography department for the Hamas-affiliated Rawafed Educational Channel, but according to a June martyr video was also a member of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Eighteen individuals listed by CPJ were alleged by the IDF to have been terrorists, and were reportedly targeted by the Israeli military for their positions within such military groups. This includes Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) affiliated Al Quds Al-Youm employees such as Mohammed Al-Ladaa, Fadi Hassouna, Faisal Abu Al Qamsan, and Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, who were alleged to be part of a PIJ cell and killed by the IDF in October 2024. PIJ admitted in May that Sheikh Ali was a platoon commander in the Al Quds Brigades’ Central Brigade. Another individual identified by the IDF was Mohamed Mouin Ayyash, who was a photographer for his brother’s outlet Gaza Now. Gaza Now was designated by the U.S. Treasury in March 2024 for fundraising on behalf of Hamas. The IDF said that Ayyash had been a Hamas commander, and posed a threat to troops when he was killed in Nuseirat in 2023. Online obituaries also described Ayyash as “Qassam martyr” and “mujahid.”
Family Call CPJ-Listed Journalists “Mujahid”
Thirteen CPJ-listed journalists were identified as combatants through eulogies, family statements, documents, and open-source information. Often individuals are described as “mujahid” without elaborating their affiliations, but other times family members attributed to them a terrorist membership.
Al-Elamya News Agency photographer Ahmed Abu Skheil was named a “mujahid” in online eulogies for deceased combatants. He was killed alongside his journalist sister Zahra Abu Skheil and their father Mohammed Abu Skheil. The father was an Al-Quds Brigade senior officer, and Abu Skheil’s mother stated that he served as his father’s right hand. Abu Skheil’s cousins were confirmed PIJ operatives and supposed journalists Mohamed El Sayed Abu Skheil, Tariq Al-Sayed Abu Skheil, and Mohammed Adel Abu Skheil.
Other CPJ entries include individuals like Al-Sahel Media Organization journalist Yasser Abu Namous. His wife published a video of him in a military uniform, and called him a martyr of Al-Aqsa Flood (October 7 Massacre). His sister specified that he was a mujahid for Al-Qassam.
Sixty-one CPJ-listed individuals worked for news outlets affiliated with and controlled by terrorist organizations. Mohammed Al Sharafi worked for Al-Aqsa TV, which in 2010 was designated by the US Treasury for being financed and controlled by Hamas. Three other individuals worked for Quds News Network, which is of disputed terrorist affiliation. Some sources attributed the outlet to PIJ, while others ascribe the organization to Hamas.
Corrections Must be Issued by Media and CPJ
On June 25, CPJ announced that it would be conducting its own audit of its database of 224 names in response to the publication of obituaries by terrorist organizations. By May, eight individuals were removed for participation in combat. Another seven were removed for not meeting CPJ’s definition of being media workers, however HonestReporting found that three of these individuals, such as PIJ operative Assaad Shamlakh, also had terrorist ties. CPJ has yet to have issued updates about its review, despite stating that it expected the self-audit to be completed in July.
Since the October 7 War, CPJ and its database has often been cited by news outlets, with the NGO contending that journalists were being deliberately targeted by the IDF. On Sunday, the Independent cited CPJ, without noting that the organization had acknowledged problems with its database, and had launched a review. CPJ was cited in articles 91 times in relation to the 120 individuals with terrorism ties, but few if any corrections have been issued.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
