Netanyahu Condemns Media, Accusing Photojournalists Of Being ‘Accomplices in Crimes Against Humanity’

(Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the international media for “working with” photojournalists he alleges to be “accomplices in crimes against humanity.”

At issue is the work of several photojournalists who captured images of burning tanks taken shortly after the Hamas-led atrocities against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. The story was first reported by pro-Israel watchdog group HonestReporting.com with the headline “AP & Reuters Pictures of Hamas Atrocities Raise Ethical Questions.”

The lede of the report is a bit more breathless:

On October 7, Hamas terrorists were not the only ones who documented the war crimes they had committed during their deadly rampage across southern Israel. Some of their atrocities were captured by Gaza-based photojournalists working for the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies whose early morning presence at the breached border area raises serious ethical questions.

The story was almost immediately promoted on social media with the framing that major media outlets were embedded with Hamas terrorists as they killed more than one thousand Israelis.

That said, the report does not draw any conclusions about the photojournalists, instead raising “ethical questions” about their presence at the attacks.

The report focused on Gaza-based photographer Hassan Eslaiah, who works with news syndicator the Associated Press. A photo of said to be of Eslaiah circulated online apparently showing him getting kissed by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

In the hours following our expose, new material is still coming to light concerning Gazan freelance journalist Hassan Eslaiah whom both AP & CNN used on Oct. 7.

Here he is pictured with Hamas leader and mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar. https://t.co/S9pXeIGaFq pic.twitter.com/RmEZU5RsM8

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 8, 2023

On top of that, Israeli reporter Amit Segal shared a video that allegedly shows Eslaiah on a motorcycle with a grenade “on his way to the massacre of women and babies.”

Yo, @AP, @Reuters, @cnn – what your freelancer in Gaza Hassan Eslaiah is doing on a motorbike with a grenade, on his way to the massacre of women and babies? Is a grenade part of the equipment you provide? pic.twitter.com/jU85KEo7Ec

— עמית סגל Amit Segal (@amit_segal) November 9, 2023

The work of Eslaiah doesn’t just show up on AP and CNN — it is available to any outlet with a licensing deal with AP. His images can be found on FoxNews.com, NBCNews.com, and many other news outlets. That’s how syndicated imagery works.

Given how difficult it is to get reliable reporting from the beseiged area of Gaza, AP can’t be blamed for working with a photojournalist in the region. Should they continue working with him if he is this cosy with Hamas? Almost certainly not. And featuring his past work does raise ethical questions.

Prime Minister Netanyahu jumped into the fray on this subject, accusing the “international media” of being complicit in the events of October 7 by posting the following on social media:

The National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the PMO views with utmost gravity that photojournalists working with international media joined in covering the brutal acts of murder perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7th in the communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 9, 2023

Overnight the GPO issued an urgent letter to the bureau chiefs of the media organizations that employed these photographers and sought clarifications on the matter.

The National Public Diplomacy Directorate demands that immediate action be taken.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 9, 2023

In a statement to Mediaite, CNN said they suspended working with Eslaiah:

We had no prior knowledge of the October 7th attacks. Hassan Eslaiah, who was a freelance journalist working for us and many other outlets, was not working for the network on October 7th. As of today, we have severed all ties with him.

AP has also released a statement that reads:

The Associated Press had no knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened.
The first pictures AP received from any freelancer show they were taken more than an hour after the attacks began. No AP staff were at the border at the time of the attacks, nor did any AP staffer cross the border at any time.

We are no longer working with Hassan Eslaiah, who had been an occasional freelancer for AP and other international news organizations in Gaza.

AP uses images taken by freelancers around the world. When we accept freelance photos, we take great steps to verify the authenticity of the images and that they show what is purported.

The role of the AP is to gather information on breaking news events around the world, wherever they happen, even when those events are horrific and cause mass casualties.

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