- Photographers from mainstream media, including CNN, Associated Press and Reuters, appear to have been embedded with Hamas on October 7
CNN has “suspended all ties” with a photojournalist who appears to be linked to Hamas on October 7, at the time of the terror group’s barbaric attack on Israel.
Hassan Eslaiah, who has also worked for the Associated Press, posted several images and videos to X in the midst of the attack, including a clip showing Hamas fighters looting a burning Israeli attack. “All the Israeli soldiers who were in the tank have been kidnapped,” he told his followers.
His resignation comes in the wake of a shocking report from the media watchdog Honest reporting who named Eslaia, along with Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud and Hatem Ali, as the four photojournalists whose work was used on October 7.
Honest Reporting noted that Eslaiah deleted several October 7 posts from Page
In response, a CNN spokesperson said the network “had no doubts about the journalistic accuracy of the work he did for us, we have decided to suspend all ties with him.”
Hassan Eslaiah, an AP/CNN photographer, with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an undated photo
Eslaiah posted this video on October 7 showing the looting of an Israeli tank
In a statement to The Washington Times, an Associated Press spokesperson said: “The Associated Press had no knowledge of the October 7 attacks before they occurred. The role of The Associated Press is to gather information about major news events around the world, wherever they occur, even if those events are horrific and cause mass casualties.”
In 2021, it was widely reported that the Associated Press was using the same office space as Hamas in Gaza.
Eslaiah was previously pictured in a loving embrace with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an undated photo.
Honest Reporting was founded by veteran Israeli journalist Gil Hoffman. The motto is: ‘The public deserves to know.’
“If international news agencies decide to pay for material captured under such problematic circumstances, their standards may be called into question and their audiences deserve to know,” reads part of their report on Eslaiah.
“And if their people on the ground were to actively or passively work with Hamas to take control, they would be called upon to redefine the line between journalism and barbarism.”
