Mainstream news outlets are scrambling to distance themselves from Gaza-based photographers who were revealed to have embedded with Hamas terrorists as they committed atrocities against Israeli citizens on October 7.
The Associated Press, Reuters, and CNN all insisted late Wednesday night that they had no advance knowledge of the Hamas terrorist attack, while indicating that they could not make the same guarantees for the photographers they work with. A report from media watchdog Honest Reporting showed that photographers were with Hamas as it breached the border out of Gaza, and had a front row view of its attacks — raising questions about how photographers knew about the surprise attack.
CNN says it has formally cut ties with Hassan Eslaiah, one of the photographers highlighted by Honest Reporting on Wednesday, who was shown not only to be with terrorists on October 7, but also to have a cozy relationship with the terrorist group.
“We are aware of the article and photo concerning Hassan Eslaiah, a freelance photojournalist who has worked with a number of international and Israeli outlets,” CNN press officer Train Kumar told The Daily Wire. “While we have not at this time found reason to doubt the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us, we have decided to suspend all ties with him.”
The Associated Press, which has also published photos from Eslaiah, said it had no knowledge of the attacks before they took place — but notably failed to make the same guarantees for photographers it works with.
“The Associated Press had no knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened,” spokeswoman Nicole Meir told The Daily Wire. “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. AP uses images taken by freelancers around the world, including in Gaza.”
Reuters, which also published pictures from reporters who appear to have been embedded with the terrorists as they kidnapped and murdered Israelis, also told The Daily Wire it “categorically denies” that that it “had prior knowledge of the attack or that we embedded journalists with Hamas on October 7.”
The outlet said it had no prior relationship with the photographers it published pictures from of the attack.
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“Reuters acquired photographs from two Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of October 7, with whom it did not have a prior relationship,” a spokeswoman told The Daily Wire on Thursday morning. “The photographs published by Reuters were taken two hours after Hamas fired rockets across southern Israel and more than 45 minutes after Israel said gunmen had crossed the border. Reuters staff journalists were not on the ground at the locations referred to in the HonestReporting article.”
The New York Times, which also published photos from embedded photographers, has not responded to a request for comment.
The exposé into the photographers came after much scrutiny into anti-Israel bias in the media. Among the high-profile incidents of bias since war broke out in Gaza was the media blaming Israel for a hospital explosion that was actually caused by the terrorists. The false reporting led to mass protests against the Jewish state and Jewish people across the globe.
Eslaiah, the photographer highlighted by Honest Reporting, has a cozy relationship with terrorist groups in Gaza. Posts unearthed in the past 24 hours show him kissing Hamas leadership in Gaza, and armed with a grenade as he travels by motorcycle in the terrorist-controlled territory.
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
READ MORE: Mainstream Outlets Had Photographers Embedded With Hamas As Terror Attack Unfolded: Report