Israel accuses photographers of traveling with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused international media photographers of being present and taking pictures of the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th. Netanyahu’s office wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on Thursday: “These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity, their actions violated professional ethics.” The media were asked in writing to clarify this and take immediate action.

The website “HonestReporting” initially expressed suspicion that freelance photographers from the US broadcaster CNN, the “New York Times” and the news agencies AP and Reuters were directly present at the massacres on October 7th. More than 1,400 people were killed and 239 were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.

Media comment on allegations from Israel

The AP news agency wrote about the allegations: “The Associated Press had no knowledge of the October 7 attacks before they occurred.” The first images AP received from freelance photographers showed they were taken more than an hour after the attack began. “No AP employees were at the border at the time of the attack, nor did AP employees cross the border at the time,” it said. The collaboration with a photographer named “HonestReporting” had ended.

The Israeli news site “ynet” told CNN that in light of the report, the broadcaster had ended its collaboration with one of the photographers mentioned.

The Reuters news agency wrote: “We are aware of the report by “HonestReporting” and the allegations against two freelance photographers who contributed to Reuters’ reporting on October 7th. Reuters categorically denies that it knew about the attack in advance or that Hamas was involved October 7th.”

The New York Times rejected the accusation of having known about the terrorist attack in advance as “untrue and outrageous.” “Making such allegations is reckless and puts our journalists in Israel and Gaza at risk,” it said in a statement. The newspaper explained to a freelance photographer named by “HonestReporting” that he was not working for the “NYT” on October 7th. “Since then he has done important work for us.”

Some photos from AP were broadcast on the DPA image radio. A DPA spokesman in Hamburg said the DPA had asked its partner agency AP to clarify how these images came about and whether these freelance photographers had been informed in advance about the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

Note: This article has been updated to include a more detailed statement from the AP.