German reports cast doubt on Gaza images

A report by German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung published earlier this week is calling into question the trustworthiness of the images coming out of the Gaza Strip, finding that at least some appear to be staged Hamas propaganda.

The investigation, which also covered by Bild on Tuesday, focuses on photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha, a freelancer commissioned by Turkish news agency Anadolu, who apparently stages shots to maximize the narrative of Israeli-caused suffering.

For example, photos taken by him at a Gaza aid distribution site show mainly pleading women and children. But photographs by others at the same site show mostly adult men calmly waiting for and receiving food, according to the report.

Fteiha is on a mission to “Free Palestine,” according to the paper. His Instagram account shows him in combat gear with the inscription “Presse,” an image which according to Bild was created by “an avowed Jew-hater.”

Another video on his account is captioned “F--k Israel.” Fteiha is also active in europe.palestine.network, which promotes international “resistance” against Israel, the paper reported.

Despite this, his photographs are used by major news media. They have been published by Stern, New York Magazine, CNN, the BBC, Deutschlandfunk, Junge Welt and, at least before the revelations, Bild itself.

Upon reaching out to them, the German daily was told by the German Press Agency and Agence France Press that they wouldn’t use Fteiha’s images in the future. Reuters, in contrast, said only that its photos “meet the standards of accuracy, independence, and impartiality.”

Part of the problem is that Israel is not allowing journalists into the Gaza Strip, leaving the field to Palestinian photographers, according to the German newspaper.

“In southern Gaza, Hamas controls 100% of image production,” historian and photography expert Gerhard Paul told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Hamas’s goal is to incite against Israel, and according to Bild it’s working.

“Hardly anyone is more adept at propaganda than Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations,” the report states.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry weighed in on the German reports, tweeting on Tuesday, “Beware of fake news. A joint investigation by @SZ and @BILD reveals how Hamas uses ‘Pallywood,’ staged or selectively framed media, to manipulate global opinion.”

“Pallywood” is a term used to describe the staging by Palestinian terror groups of fake injuries and deaths to generate sympathy for themselves and anger at Israel.

“Pallywood has gone mainstream with staged images and ideological bias shaping international coverage, while the suffering of Israeli hostages and Hamas atrocities are pushed out of frame,” the ministry said.