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11-11-2023
NEW YORK: Two international news agencies and The New York Times have denied claims in a viral report alleging that photojournalists may have had prior knowledge of Hamas’ attacks in Israel last month and even possibly “coordinated” with the militant group in order to document the carnage.
An article published by HonestReporting Tuesday asked how photographers working for the Associated Press and Reuters were able to be at the breached border fence between Gaza and Israel early in the early morning of Oct. 7 as Hamas gunmen launched their assault. The article said the journalists’ presence “raises serious ethical questions” and asked if it was conceivable that the reporters were there “without prior coordination with the terrorists? Or were they part of the plan?”
The article from HonestReporting, a press watchdog headquartered in New York City which aims to “combat ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel” attracted the attention of the Israeli government.
On Thursday, Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi published an open letter addressed to the AP, Reuters, CNN, and the Times (the HonestReporting piece claimed a pair of journalists at the breached border freelance for CNN and the Times).
“I write to you with deep concern regarding recent reports about your employees’ alleged involvement in the tragic events in southern Israel, where Hamas-ISIS terrorists carried out a heinous massacre,” Karhi wrote. “It has come to our attention that certain individuals within your organization, including photographers and others, had prior knowledge of these horrific actions and may have maintained a troubling connection with the perpetrators.”
Karhi went on to request that the media outlets conduct investigations into the matter. “The gravity of the situation demands a swift and thorough response,” he added.
The Times blasted the “untrue and outrageous” assertion that any of their staff received forewarning about the attacks, and said that was no evidence to support the accusations.
“It is reckless to make such allegations, putting our journalists on the ground in Israel and Gaza at risk,” the outlet said in a statement.
The HonestReporting report implied that freelance photographer Yousef Masoud, who contributed to the Times in the wake of the attack, may have had forewarning given his proximity to the conflict early on.
In a statement, the Associated Press also denied having any knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
