Press Vest ‘Doesn’t Turn a Terrorist into a Journalist’: IDF Strikes Islamic Jihad Terrorists in Gaza Posing as Journalists

Latest Developments

IDF Strikes Terrorist Cell Using Press Vehicle: The IDF said that it eliminated a “terrorist cell” of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) on December 26. The IDF released evidence that the five men, killed by an airstrike in a van reportedly marked with the word “Press,” were operatives in the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization posing as journalists despite claims that they were journalists with a local PIJ-affiliated television station, Al-Quds Today. “Wearing a vest that says ‘press’ doesn’t turn a terrorist into a journalist,” IDF International Spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said on X. “If you care about journalism — call out ‘media outlets’ hiring terrorists.”
Appeared on List of PIJ Operatives: The men killed in the IDF strike were identified as Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, an operations and combat propaganda operative; Fadi Hassouna, a combat propagandist in Nuseirat; Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, head of security for the PIJ in Nuseirat; Mohammed al-Lada’a, a combat propagandist; and Ayman al-Jadi, a combat propagandist and former PIJ naval operative. Four of the individuals appeared on a list of PIJ operatives that the IDF discovered in Gaza and used to help confirm their identities.
History of Gazan Terrorists Moonlighting as Journalists: On January 7, an IDF airstrike killed a Hamas deputy commander and a member of PIJ’s electronic engineering unit who were moonlighting as videographers for Al Jazeera. On January 19, the IDF eliminated the manager of Al-Quds Today, who was a senior PIJ member. On June 9, Israeli forces killed a Hamas-affiliated journalist who was holding three Israeli hostages abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, atrocities. Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera correspondent who was killed on July 31, was a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force and took part in Hamas’s October 7 attack. On October 23, Israel released documents seized from Gaza that exposed six more Al Jazeera journalists as Hamas and PIJ members and a trove of documents the following day describing how “Hamas directs Al Jazeera’s media coverage to serve its own interests.”

FDD Expert Response

“The terrorists in Gaza have run a successful media campaign to delegitimize the IDF. Like Hamas, PIJ terrorists embed their cameramen on the battlefield and have manipulated and twisted the narrative for over a year. At the end of the day, PIJ is an Iranian terror proxy. Members of PIJ deserve a terrorist’s end.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“Terrorists regularly pose as journalists or first responders to evade targeting on the battlefield. While working for the media arm of a terrorist organization still makes you a terrorist, what we have here appears to be more classic terrorist operatives playing journalist dress-up. The irresponsibility here lies with the media and pundits who rushed out misleading headlines.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor

“The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group claimed that the five men killed in the targeted IDF strike were journalists. However, evidence provided by the IDF shows that these individuals operated in various capacities for the terror group. This illustrates how these groups exploit industries such as journalism as a cover for their activities. It is essential that journalists distance themselves from murderous terrorist organizations and that these groups be held to account for trying to use the media as cover for their activities.” — Seth J. Frantzman, Adjunct Fellow