The Myth of Gaza’s “Journalists”: Unmasking the Propaganda Machine
BREAKING: Al Jazeera just published a list of 231 “journalists” targeted for their press jacket by the IDF in Gaza—a lie in the ongoing information war
The latest “BREAKING NEWS:” Al Jazeera just published the names of 231 “journalists” allegedly killed by the IDF in Gaza since October 7th. It’s the latest chapter in a long-running information war—one in which Hamas and its media partners have been brazenly manipulating Western sympathies through selective narratives, weaponized statistics, outright lies, and constant accusations that the IDF is targeting journalists to silence the press in Gaza, a false accusation reaching as far as the ICC.
But there’s a critical problem with this new list—It has been largely exposed before and is being shamelessly repeated. Back in December 2023, Al Jazeera released a similar list of names, attempting to paint Israel as systematically targeting journalists. That list was carefully analyzed by investigative journalists David Collier, he released his findings in January 2024, and what he found was damning. Many of those labeled “journalists” had direct and provable ties to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terror groups operating openly in Gaza. These were not independent reporters carrying cameras—they were armed combatants, propagandists, and in some cases, participants in the October 7th massacre itself.
The very first person on the list tells so much about the entire list. Mohamed Al-Salehi was killed on Oct. 7th, he was shot by the IDF, before 1PM. While some reports he was killed in central Gaza, something impossible since the IDF was not in Gaza that day. Others more accurate reports place of death "near the border."
As documented by David Collier, his love for Hamas is evident from his social media & based on the date and time he died, he did so taking part of the massacre! He was not a journalist, he was a murdered.
In general, Collier’s investigation uncovered that the list was padded with individuals who weren’t journalists at all. Some were for example construction workers. Over one quarter of them had no media affiliations whatsoever. Yet they were cynically counted in the toll to manufacture a false narrative of a targeted war on the press.
According to David Collier’s January 2024 investigation and other corroborating reports, including one from the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, of the names listed by Al Jazeera from October 2023 to late December 2023: More than three-quarters of the entire list is fraudulent or deliberately misleading.
~50% had direct affiliations with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or other terror groups.
~27% were not journalists at all—construction workers, relatives, or unaffiliated civilians.
Only ~23% could credibly be described as independent
journalists with no apparent ties to terror.
Abdallah Aljamal, not Journalist, a hostage Keeper and Hamas member
Even more brazen is that the current list from Al Jazeera still includes individuals already publicly exposed as Hamas operatives, Among them: one they publicly disassociated with after it became public who he was. The so-called “Palestinian journalist” from Palestine Chronicle Abdallah Aljamal, who was revealed almost exactly one year ago to be a full Hamas member—and not just a member, but a man who kept three Israeli hostages locked in his home for months before he was killed in a daring rescue operation by the IDF.
Another one, Abdallah Darwish, someone who was documented taking part of the October 7th Massacre. Darwish took an active part in the October 7th massacre itself. His presence among the terrorists who stormed into Israel, committing one of the worst atrocities in modern memory, is not speculation—it is documented.
Celebrating a terror attack in Hebron on August 21, 2023, openly glorifying the murder of civilians.
Multiple martyrdom posts, including repeated mentions of Mohieddin Al-Sadoudi, who died on a “jihadi mission” in June 2023, indicating close personal ties to active Hamas fighters.
His timeline was saturated with calls to jihad, glorification of violence, and celebration of those who engaged in terrorist activity.
The best example of the resurrected “journalists” is Mustafa Ayyad, who remains on Al Jazeera’s list. Reported as “killed” by a strike on his home, his “murder” was widely condemned by the media and the UN. Yet, just months later, he was arrested alive in Austria—exposing the falsehood behind the narrative.
Mustafa Ayyash, was allegedly founder and director of the Gaza-based media outlet Gaza Now, is a striking example of the phenomenon of “resurrected journalists.” Initially reported killed in an Israeli airstrike on his family home in Gaza in November 2023—an incident that led to widespread international condemnation—Ayyash was later found to be alive and active. However, his activities drew further scrutiny when, in March 2024, the U.S. and U.K. imposed sanctions on him and his media organization, accusing them of supporting Hamas through fundraising efforts and media promotion. The following month, Austrian authorities arrested Ayyash in Vienna, seizing his electronic devices and shutting down his media platforms, including a Telegram channel with over 1.8 million followers, they have a new Telegram channel with over 200,000 subscribers. Interestingly, they “memorialize a one year anniversary of their “dead”/arrested founder.
They continue to have X accounts. In their Arabic one, they celebrated the terror attack in Boulder, Colorado. Maybe it’s time for Elon Musk to shut the accounts down? They are a sanctioned organization by the United States.
From the entire Al Jazeera list of "dead" journalists, Mustafa Ayyash case reveals something scary: How many are not actually dead and instead escaped to places in the West? Mustafa Ayyash was arrested, but how many were not? Can we guarantee all 231 are dead? Of course not, and we have one clear case to prove it.
Without even conducting a new full deep-dive into the newly released list, what’s immediately clear is that approximately 13% of those named worked for Al-Aqsa TV and Radio, the official media arm of Hamas. These are not fringe associations—Al-Aqsa operates as Hamas’ direct propaganda outlet, sanctioned by multiple governments and unmistakably tied to terror operations.
Al Jazeera, a Hamas Propaganda Arm
Al Jazeera itself, which released the list, has dozens of documented terrorist with ties to terrorism. In the list of killed, they report at least six of its journalists killed in Gaza, some already proven to have direct ties to terrorism.
Take Hossam Shabat, was also revealed to be a Hamas operative. The IDF presented direct evidence of his membership in Hamas.
He launched on October 7th his Telegram Channel at 6:50AM. Hossam posted horrific images and videos of the massacre all day. While he never said which network he worked for, he received a press pass from Hamas and according to a wikipedia page he worked for Al Jazeera. His social media shows he was a fanboy of Hamas and Ismail Haniyeh. What is more intriguing, Qatari Education Minister Lolwah Alkhater was quick to condemn the killing of Hossam Shabat.
As X account Gazawood said, “You could go on all day about Hossam Shabat being a terrorist (just eliminated by Israel) — but what really sticks with me is the Pallywood legacy he left behind.” He was behind some of the most outrageous claims, such as Israel using weapons “evaporating” people and IDF soldiers raping women in Al-Shifa hospital, in front of their husbands. A claim even Al Jazeera had to walk back as fabricated.
Another notable “journalists” is Hamza al-Dahdouh, son of Wael Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief and member of the Dahdouh clan, a deeply connected clan linked to terrorism, mainly the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Hamza wasn’t just a reporter—evidence has since surfaced tying him to active involvement with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s rocket engineering apparatus.
And yet, despite these connections and his social media posts clearly showing, at the very least, support for terrorism, Hamza al-Dahdouh was publicly quoted by Western commentators like Mehdi Hasan.
“But What About the Women?”
Whenever these facts come up—lists padded with terrorists masquerading as journalists, names of Hamas propagandists counted as innocent reporters—there’s always a predictable response: “But what about the women? Surely Israel is indiscriminately targeting female journalists too?”
It’s a talking point designed to evoke immediate emotional reaction and bypass critical thinking. But reality, as usual, doesn’t cooperate with the narrative.
Women, like men, can be—and often are—affiliated with terrorist organizations. And two notable female names, Wafa Al Udaini and Hanin Baroud, on Al Jazeera’s latest list exemplify exactly that.
Wafa Al Udaini: The Face of Propaganda Behind the Niqab
Wafa Al Udaini, often elevated by pro-Palestinian activists as a courageous voice from Gaza. Western audiences may best recognize her from her TalkTV interview with Julia Hartley-Brewer, where she appeared wearing a full niqab—an image carefully curated to present her as an oppressed, soft-spoken journalist merely trying to speak truth to power. But that’s not the full story—and Wafa Al Udaini was anything but neutral.
During that interview, Al Udaini flatly refused to answer a basic question: “As a journalist, what is your opinion on what would be a reasonable and proportionate response to the October 7th massacre against Israel?” Instead of addressing the topic, she used the platform to spread Hamas talking points and evasive rhetoric, showing that her role was not to report—but to manipulate. The picture gets even clearer when you look at her personal connections.
Wafa Al Udaini was a member of the Al-Udaini(Al-Adini) clan, a family with extensive ties to Hamas. After her death, the clan’s official Facebook page eulogized her, prominently featuring her husband standing alongside his brother Imad Attiya Darwish Al-Adini (Abu Musab)—a senior Qassam Brigades commander and head of Hamas’ missile unit in the Central Brigade, killed by Israel in a targeted strike on March 2024. Let’s be blunt: She wasn’t killed for journalism. She was killed because of her direct connection and physical proximity to Hamas fighters and commanders.
Her family’s history further underscores this:
The truth about Wafa Al Udaini doesn’t stop with her family ties to Hamas. Her role as a propagandist wasn’t just limited to Gaza—it was global, woven directly into the broader Hamas-aligned influence network targeting Western audiences.
Take, for example, a prominent event where Wafa Al Udaini shared a platform with leaders from Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and American Islamist groups like AMP (American Muslims for Palestine). Among those speaking alongside her was Ramzy Baroud, editor of the Palestine Chronicle. The event was 'Al-Aqsa International Week. Al-Aqsa International Week was hosted by the UK-based Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), in cooperation with the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
Ramzy Baroud’s name might ring a bell. He’s the same editor who hired Abdallah Aljamal, the so-called “journalist” exposed as a Hamas operative who kept three Israeli hostages in his home for months before being killed during their rescue and shamelessly listed on Al Jazeera’s martyr-roll of ‘journalists.’ Wafa didn’t just participate in events together with Ramzy, she was also a writer for the Palestine Chronicle. She was referred as “Palestine Chronicle’s Star Contributor”
The connections run deeper. Ramzy’s daughter, Zarefah Baroud, has appeared frequently in pro-Hamas circles, and in 2022 she traveled to Gaza, proudly referring to Wafa Al Udaini as her friend. During that trip, Zarefah spoke at events organized by Wafa Al Udaini’s own propaganda group, the “16th October Group,” where Wafa served as “Founding Manager.”
What exactly is the 16th October Group? On paper, it’s described as a collective of young Palestinian “journalists” and “activists” focused on “telling the Palestinian narrative.” In reality, it’s yet another propaganda factory, explicitly aimed at training children to serve as mouthpieces for Hamas. ‘Coincidentally,’ The Palestine Chronicle also engages children in their 'reporting.' The Palestine Chronicle calls them 'Jr. Correspondents.
One of the most notable propaganda pieces published by the 16th October Group involves the deaths of two children—notable because their deaths have been reported multiple times. These particular children have allegedly died three separate times, in different circumstances and on different dates, all within an eight-month span. Their supposed deaths were also reported by the Hamas-linked Euro-Med Monitor.
Hanin Baroud: Another Female “Journalist,” Another Hamas Connection
Unlike Wafa Al Udaini, Hanin Baroud may not be a household name in Western media circles. She worked for Al-Quds International Foundation, a group sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2012 for its close ties to Hamas. This wasn’t a fringe organization. Her uncle, Naim Baroud, served on its Board of Directors. And it doesn’t stop there. Hanin was also employed by Al-Aqsa TV, Hamas’ official media outlet, explicitly used by the group as a tool of incitement, propaganda, and glorification of terrorism.
But if you’ve followed viral clips from Gaza in recent months, you’ve likely seen her mother, Umm Malik Baroud. After her brothers were killed, videos of Umm Malik went viral internationally—not for grief, but for celebration. In another video she was filmed scrolling through photos of her deceased children, one of those images stood out: a photograph of one of her sons posing with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Hanin’s brother also has other pictures posing with Haniyeh. Hanin’s father was Mahmoud Baroud, Hamas Minister of Youth and Sports in Gaza, killed by the IDF during the war.
To summarize:
Employer: U.S.-sanctioned Al-Quds International Foundation, Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas’ propaganda wing)
Father: Mahmoud Baroud — Senior Hamas official and former Minister of Youth and Sports
Uncle: Naim Baroud — Board Member of Hamas-linked, U.S.-sanctioned Al-Quds International Foundation
Public connections to: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas political leader
She wasn’t just a journalist and her family one touched by conflict—it was a family embedded at the senior level of Hamas’ terror infrastructure.
Bilal Jadallah: “Godfather of Palestinian Journalism” or Gatekeeper of Hamas Messaging?
The killing of Bilal Jadallah on November 19, 2023, in a targeted IDF strike, sparked global condemnation. Western media outlets and press freedom organizations and even the UN condemned his death as a grave “blow to journalism in Gaza.” Jadallah, Chairman of Press House Palestine, was described as “The Godfather of Palestinian Journalism.”
But the mythology quickly collapses under even modest scrutiny.
While it’s true that Bilal Jadallah had roots in Fatah and had worked for outlets like Reuters before Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, his trajectory shifted decisively in the years that followed. Stripped of his earlier affiliations, Jadallah reestablished himself by embedding deeply within Hamas' media ecosystem.
His family alone hints at the ideological leanings: his brother, Ali Jadallah, a photojournalist for Anadolu Agency, was specifically named in a 2024 report by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center as one of the “journalists in the service of Hamas in Gaza.”
Ali isn’t just passively aligned; he can be seen regularly alongside other so-called journalists with deep Hamas ties, including the most connected ones, Hassan Eslaiah and Ashraf Abu Amra, whose connections to Hamas military leadership have been documented repeatedly as well as taking part of the October 7th massacre.
Despite the well known ties to Hamas by Ashraf Abu Amra, a video report from Ashraf Abu Amra was retweeted by UN’s Francesca Albanese a few days ago.
These relationships go back years, forming a tight-knit network of “photojournalists” embedded within Hamas’ propaganda machine, providing visuals for international wire services while simultaneously operating as PR agents for a terror organization.
But it wasn’t just family ties.
In 2015, Bilal Jadallah publicly eulogized Hamas co-founder Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi, glorifying him on Facebook in a tribute that suggested not just ideological admiration but personal closeness. This wasn’t a detached memorial; it was a eulogy dripping with reverence for a man responsible for years of bloodshed against Israelis.
Even more damning was Jadallah’s long-standing role as a facilitator and host for Hamas leadership at Press House Palestine. The organization, often billed as a neutral space for “journalism training and dialogue,” routinely welcomed top-tier Hamas official and press events.
And Bilal Jadallah wasn’t on the sidelines of this system—he was at its center. As the Chairman of Press House Palestine, Bilal provided the platform, the legitimacy, and the access for Hamas leaders to co-opt the language of journalism while pushing their propaganda to Western audiences. His press center became a revolving door for Hamas commanders and media operatives, giving terror operatives the credibility of the press pass while enabling global media outlets to present Hamas narratives as “neutral reporting.”
He also provided “journalists” to all sorts of media outlets, from big to small—AP, Reuters, Washington Post, the BBC, and CNN, and even The Palestine Chronicle, the same platform that employed Abdallah Aljamal, the “journalist” who kept Israeli hostages captive in his family home. The journalist provided by the Press House Palestine is Mahmoud Ajjour, documented teaching his fans how to stab humans.
That’s why Bilal Jadallah’s death became such a powerful propaganda moment—not because of what Bilal reported, but because of the system he helped build, the mask of press freedom he provided to one of the most sophisticated terror propaganda machines in the world.
These are not accidental overlaps. They are the architecture of network serving Hamas’ influence and propaganda campaign, carefully crafted to sell lies to worldwide audiences. This isn’t journalism—it’s propaganda and terrorist lies.
What Al Jazeera Won’t Tell You: The ‘Dead Journalists’ List Omits Those Killed by Hamas
It’s become almost routine by now: Propaganda to claim “Israel targets journalists,” yesterday another list circulated by Al-Jazeera claiming 231 “journalists killed” in Gaza, since October 7th, 2023. But like the previous lists, it quickly falls apart under the most basic scrutiny.
Great work! Thanks!