Journalists working for foreign media in Gaza have taken part in Hamas’s “Day of Loyalty to the Palestinian Journalist,” an annual event hosted by the terror group’s Government Media Office with the stated aim of aligning the media with Hamas’s agenda, according to media watchdog HonestReporting.
The exposure unveils the disturbing relationship between Gaza’s rulers and the journalists tasked with covering them, calling into question their objectivity and the ethical standards of their media outlets—the Associated Press, AFP, Reuters, and The New York Times.
Some highlights from the HonestReporting investigation:
• AP staff photographer Hatem Moussa delivered a video address at Hamas’ 2014 Loyalty Day event. His message appears to have been displayed on the same screen as that of Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida. It was also published in propaganda style by Hamas’s official news agency.
• AP photographer Fatima Shbair and AFP’s Mohammed Baba spoke in a promotional video for the 2021 event, in which they were also honored by Hamas for receiving international awards.
• Two journalists were honored in the 2021 event as Hamas media office’s “work partners:” Yasser Qudih, who infiltrated into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and recently won the Pulitzer Prize with Reuters’ photography staff, and New York Times photographer Samar abu Elouf, who recently won the prestigious Polk Award.
• At the 2022 event, two journalists were honored for serving on the judging panel of the Government Media Office’s media contest: Reuters cameraman Fadi Shanaa and AP’s Adel Hana, both of whom HonestReporting exposed for teaching Hamas media courses.
• Other journalists were honored in 2021 and 2022 for winning international awards. These included Reuters photographer Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, who recently also won the 2024 Staff Photography Pulitzer, and AP photographer Khalil Hamra.
• In 2022, the terror group also gave monetary awards to two journalists who were exposed by HonestReporting for their infiltration into Israel and their links to Hamas—Hassan Eslaiah, who worked for AP and CNN, and Ashraf Amra who worked for Reuters.
The following details were compiled based on a review of Palestinian social and mainstream media. HonestReporting has reached out to the relevant media agencies for comment.
Message for Hamas
AP’s award-winning photographer Hatem Moussa, who has been working for the agency since 1998, delivered a recorded video message at Hamas’s Day of Loyalty event on Dec. 31, 2014.
His address, in which he mainly thanked fellow journalists, was recorded after his injury in the 2014 Gaza war and posted by a colleague on Facebook.
But according to Hamas’s news agency, al-Rai, which seems to have added “context” to his words, his message was to expose “the occupation’s practices and crimes against Palestinians.”
And what’s most disturbing is that the report includes a picture of another speaker at the event, whose message was apparently displayed on the same screen: Abu Ubaida, the Hamas spokesperson who threatened to kill Israeli hostages at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
Serving Hamas
Moussa’s colleague, AP’s photographer Fatima Shbair, followed suit. Her message, as well as that of AFP photographer Mohammed Baba, was included in a promotional video featuring award-winning journalists honored by Hamas in the Dec. 31, 2021 Loyalty Day event.
Both Shbair and Baba thanked the Hamas Government Media Office in a gushing display of emotion, with Shbair calling its efforts “incredible” and Baba voicing hope the office will “adhere to its pledge.”
Here are the translated relevant clips from the full promo, which was shared on the GMO’s Facebook page:
“As long as the battle continues, we must continue conveying the truth, and getting this picture out to the world. What the Government Press Office does every year to honor Palestinian journalists and their efforts on the ground is incredible. It encourages all of the journalists to carry on with the mission.
“To the Government Press Office, which every year celebrates and honors journalists and photographers, I say this: This demonstrates your connection to the journalists, and I hope you will always adhere to your pledge.”
In the 2021 and 2022 Loyalty Day events, several journalists working for international media were honored by Hamas for working with the GMO, serving as judges in the GMO’s media contest or winning international awards.
In 2021, according to a Facebook Live posted on the GMO’s page, those honored as its “work partners” were photographers Yasser Qudih and Samar Abu Elouf.
Qudih infiltrated into Israel on Oct. 7 and recently won the Pulitzer Prize with Reuters photography staff, and Elouf—who was also honored at the event for winning an international award—is a New York Times photographer, who recently won the prestigious Polk Award.
In 2022, as seen in another Facebook Live of the annual event, Hamas honored AP’s veteran photographer Adel Hana and Reuters cameraman Fadi Shanaa, for serving on a judging panel for one of its media contests. Both donned an official scarf of the Hamas Government Media Office:
Elouf’s and Hana’s commendation by Hamas is hardly surprising—Elouf had also spoken at a Hamas event she was honored at in 2012, as revealed by media analyst Eitan Fischberger.
And Hana was exposed by HonestReporting last July as having instructed media training courses supervised by the Hamas-run Information Ministry.
Other journalists in the 2021 and 2022 events played a more passive role, receiving honors for winning international awards. These included Reuters photographer Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, who recently also won the 2024 Staff Photography Pulitzer, and AP photographer Khalil Hamra.
Lastly, Hamas has also given monetary awards to show its “loyalty” to Gazan journalists.
Among those receiving these awards in 2022 were two journalists exposed by HonestReporting last year: Hassan Eslaiah, who infiltrated into Israel on Oct. 7 and was fired from CNN and AP after the exposure of his cozy photo with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and Ashraf Amra, who worked for Reuters and shared a call on social media to infiltrate into the Jewish state.
No transparency
The head of the Government Media Office is Salama Marouf, a Hamas official who shares podiums with figures like Ghazi Hamad, who vowed to repeat the Oct. 7 massacre in which 1,200 people were slaughtered in Israel.
In 2015, Marouf explained the purpose of Loyalty Day:
“Marouf explained that the ‘Day of Loyalty to the Palestinian Journalist’ has been firmly established as part of the Palestinian national agenda, not just the media’s, emphasizing that the compass of the resistance should also be the compass of the Palestinian journalist.”
