Study: Most ‘journalists’ killed in Gaza linked to Hamas or Islamic Jihad

Researchers say they identified 60% of the journalists killed in the war in Gaza as known members of Gaza terror groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

By World Israel News Staff

Most Gazan journalists killed during the two years of war between Israel and Hamas were openly affiliated with one of the major terror groups in the Gaza Strip, according to a new report.

On Thursday morning, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center released data on the journalists and other media workers killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war more than two years ago.

Researchers found that of the 266 Palestinian Arabs labeled as either journalists or media workers who were said to have died in the fighting, about 60% were known to have worked as operatives for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or other terror groups in Gaza, and nearly two-thirds had some ties to terror.

The report identified 172 (65%) of the 266 as terrorists or affiliates aligned with Gaza terror groups, including 157 members of terror groups.

Of those 157 identified as terrorists, 104 were members of Hamas, including at least 47 who were active in Hamas’ military wing.

Another 45 of the slain journalists were aligned with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and of those, 18 were official members or military operatives of the group.

Two additional journalists were operatives in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, while two others were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

One journalist was found to be a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and one other was aligned with the Popular Resistance Committees.

Two other journalists described as military operatives did not have a clear affiliation with any single terror group.

For 94 journalists, no immediate connection to terror groups was found.