Israeli officials reacted with anger to a report suggesting that photographers associated with international news services may have had advance knowledge of Hamas’s plan to attack Israeli communities on Oct. 7.
They were reacting to a report by HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog, which identified six freelance photographers from the Gaza Strip who were present during the attacks, and whose work the Associated Press and Reuters are selling to other publications. The report was published on Wednesday.
The National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement on Thursday saying it “views with utmost gravity that photojournalists working with international media joined in covering the brutal acts of murder perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on Saturday, October 7th, in the communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip.”
以色列官员对一份报告表示愤怒，该报告称与国际新闻机构有关的摄影师可能事先了解哈马斯 10 月 7 日袭击以色列社区的计划。 他们是对总部位于耶路撒冷的媒体监管机构 HonestReporting 的一份报告做出的反应，该报告确认了袭击期间在场的六名来自加沙地带的自由摄影师，美联社和路透社正在将他们的作品出售给其他出版物。该报告于周三发布。 总理办公室国家公共外交局周四发表声明称，“极其严肃地认为，与国际媒体合作的摄影记者参与报道哈马斯恐怖分子于 10 月 7 日星期六在邻近社区实施的残酷谋杀行为”。到加沙地带。” The statement added, “These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics,” and demanded that action be taken against the photographers. Meanwhile, the Government Press Office sent an urgent letter to the bureau chiefs of the media organizations that employed these photographers and sought clarifications on the matter. Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Gantz also condemned the photographers, posting on X, formerly Twitter, “If there were journalists who knew about the massacre [in advance], who remained silent and took pictures while children were being massacred—they are no different from the terrorists and their punishment is severe.” In a follow-up tweet, Gantz wrote, “Journalists found to have known about the massacre and who still chose to stand as idle bystanders while children were slaughtered—are no different than terrorists and should be treated as such.” HonestReporting identified the photographers as Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud, Hatem Ali, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa and Yasser Qudih. 声明还说，“这些记者是反人类罪的同谋；他们的行为违反了职业道德”，并要求对摄影师采取行动。 与此同时，政府新闻办公室向雇用这些摄影师的媒体机构的分社社长发出了紧急信函，要求澄清此事。 无部长部长本尼·甘茨（Benny Gantz）也谴责了这些摄影师，他在 X（前身为 Twitter）上发帖称，“如果有记者（提前）知道大屠杀的情况，并在儿童被屠杀时保持沉默并拍照——他们没有什么不同。”来自恐怖分子，他们的惩罚是严厉的。” 甘茨在后续推文中写道，“记者发现，他们知道大屠杀的情况，但在儿童被屠杀时仍然选择袖手旁观，他们与恐怖分子没有什么不同，应该受到同样的对待。” HonestReporting 确认这些摄影师为 Hassan Eslaiah、Yousef Masoud、Ali Mahmud、Hatem Ali、Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa 和 Yasser Qudih。 What were they doing there so early on what would ordinarily have been a quiet Saturday morning? Was it coordinated with Hamas? Did the respectable wire services, which published their photos, approve of their presence inside enemy territory, together with the terrorist infiltrators? Did the photojournalists who freelance for other media, like CNN and The New York Times, notify these outlets,” HonestReporting asked. HonestReporting also obtained screenshots of Eslaiah’s now-removed tweets on X in which he documented himself standing in front of an Israeli tank. He did not wear a press vest or a helmet, and the Arabic caption of his tweet read: “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements.” After the report was published, a video published on Eslaiah’s Facebook account was found in which he is riding on a motorcycle while holding a grenade. A separate photo surfaced of Eslaiah with Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre. Eslaiah’s photos from Oct. 7 were used by the Associated Press and CNN. On Thursday, CNN announced it had severed ties with Eslaiah but said it did not have “any reason to doubt the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us,” according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth. 通常是安静的周六早上，他们这么早就到那里做什么了？是否与哈马斯协调？发布他们照片的受人尊敬的通讯社是否批准他们与恐怖分子渗透者一起出现在敌方领土内？ CNN 和《纽约时报》等其他媒体的自由摄影记者是否通知了这些媒体？”HonestReporting 问道。 HonestReporting 还获得了 Eslaiah 在 X 上的推文截图（现已删除），其中他记录了自己站在一辆以色列坦克前的情况。他没有穿记者背心或头盔，他的推文的阿拉伯语标题是：“来自加沙地带定居点内部的直播。” 报道发表后，Eslaiah的Facebook账户上发布了一段视频，视频中他手握手榴弹骑着摩托车。另一张艾斯莱亚与加沙哈马斯领导人叶海亚·辛瓦尔（Yahya Sinwar）的照片浮出水面，叶海亚·辛瓦尔是 10 月 7 日大屠杀的策划者。 美联社和 CNN 使用了 Eslaiah 10 月 7 日的照片。 据以色列日报《新消息报》报道，美国有线电视新闻网 (CNN) 周四宣布与艾斯莱亚断绝关系，但表示“没有任何理由怀疑他为我们所做的工作的新闻准确性”。 The Associated Press also denied prior knowledge of the attacks, saying its role “is to gather information on breaking news events around the world, wherever they happen, even when those events are horrific and cause mass casualties.” Reuters issued a statement saying it “categorically denies that [Reuters] had prior knowledge of the attack or that we embedded journalists with Hamas on Oct 7.” The news agency merely “acquired photographs from two Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of Oct. 7, with whom it did not have a prior relationship,” the communiqué said. As of Thursday afternoon, The New York Times had not issued a statement on the issue. Israelis are Under Attack. Support Israel Today! 美联社也否认事先了解这些袭击事件，称其作用“是收集世界各地突发新闻事件的信息，无论这些事件发生在哪里，即使这些事件非常可怕并造成大规模伤亡。” 路透社发表声明称，“断然否认[路透社]事先了解这次袭击，也否认我们在 10 月 7 日向哈马斯安插了记者。” 公报称，该通讯社只是“从 10 月 7 日上午在边境的两名加沙自由摄影师那里获取了照片，该通讯社之前与他们没有任何关系”。 截至周四下午，《纽约时报》尚未就此事发表声明。 以色列人受到攻击。今天支持以色列！