Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted mainstream Western photographers after a photographer appeared to have been embedded with the terrorist organization Hamas during the October 7 attack.
In a statement, the National Public Diplomacy Directorate of the Prime Minister’s Office demanded action by news agencies after an image emerged showing one of the photographers posing for selfies with the local Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
Netanyahu Demands Answers from CNN, NYT, AP, Reuters, on Embedded Hamas Photographers https://t.co/OLqQFTe0Z3
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) November 9, 2023
“These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics,” the statement read. “Overnight the Government Press Office issued an urgent letter to the bureau chiefs of the media organizations that employed these photographers and sought clarifications on the matter.”
“The National Public Diplomacy Directorate demands that immediate action be taken,” it continued.
Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO), which regulates press access in the country, also issued a statement demanding explanations from news agencies like CNN, the Associated Press, and Reuters.
“GPO Director Nitzan Chen demands explanations from the bureau chiefs of AP, Reuters, CNN and The New York Times regarding the disturbing findings in the Honest Reporting report on the involvement of their photographers in the events of October 7th, which crosses every red line, professional and moral,” the GPO wrote.
“Four photographers who work for these networks documented the horrors perpetrated by the Hamas terrorists after they broke through border fence with Israel. They filmed the murder of civilians, the abuse of bodies and the abduction of men and women,” the statement added.
This comes after the Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel and invaded towns along the Gaza border earlier last month, killing at least 700 people. According to IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, the death toll so far has risen to 1,200 since the conflict between the two parties erupted.
The attack has since prompted Israel to declare war against the terrorist group with a ruthless aerial campaign that has flattened homes, schools, medical institutions, and government buildings in the Gaza Strip.
“This battle has meaning beyond the symbolic aspect. We need to ensure that all terrorist infrastructure in Beit Hanoun is destroyed. We will not stop, we will continue with all our might until we eradicate the Hamas organization – we will strike the entire chain of command, military depots, communications channels, tunnels, bunkers, and headquarters, everything,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
