Sometimes you have to wonder if the people who bring you the news follow the news. Over the weekend Jamie Kirchick capably deconstructed the claim that the IDF has killed “more than 200 journalists” in its war on Hamas in Gaza. Kirchick’s August 22 column — “Who Is a ‘Journalist’ in Gaza?” — appeared on the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, a corporate sister of Fox News. Yet there was the Fox News correspondent on Special Report last night regurgitating the statistic as a matter of fact without any qualms (video below). That is pathetic.
AIRSTRIKES ON GAZA
Israel says it “deeply regrets” airstrikes at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza – which killed at least 20 people, including five journalists.
Rescue crews and journalists rushing to the scene after the first strike were hit in a second strike moments later.… pic.twitter.com/nWJZ73uNdM
— Special Report (@SpecialReport) August 25, 2025
Kirchick writes:
There is no independent media to speak of in Gaza, and journalists operate at either the direct command or the mercy of Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Of the 192 putative journalists on the [Committee to Protect Journalists] list [of “journalists and media workers killed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory” plus Lebanon at 192 since Oct. 7, 2023], 26 were employed by or freelanced for Al-Aqsa TV, which the committee generously describes as “Hamas-affiliated.”
Nineteen were employed by Al-Quds Al-Youm, which the State Department says is “run by Islamic Jihad,” and seven worked for Palestine Today, which the CPJ itself calls “pro-Islamic Jihad.” Six worked for Al Mayadeen or Al-Manar, the former affiliated with and the latter owned by Hezbollah, and another 23 worked for outlets connected to terrorist groups ranging from Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to the Houthis. Not counting those the IDF has accused of being terrorists themselves—including Sharif—nearly half the people on the committee’s list worked for media owned by or affiliated with terrorist organizations.
There are also some edge cases. Whether Al Jazeera is a legitimate journalistic enterprise is debatable. It is funded by the government of Qatar, a theocratic monarchy that is Hamas’s main financial and diplomatic sponsor. And how to categorize an employee of a radio station owned by Al-Azhar University, under which the Israel Defense Forces discovered tunnels and explosives used by Hamas? “News media, even when used for propaganda purposes, enjoy immunity from attacks, except when they are used for military purposes or to incite war crimes, genocide or acts of violence,” the International Committee for the Red Cross notes.
Most of the journalists who have died in Gaza were on what the CPJ calls “dangerous assignment”—death was a risk they took while working in a war zone. But the committee alleges that 24 of the 192 listed journalists were actually “murdered” by Israel. Most of the allegedly murdered journalists, however, worked for terrorist-aligned media outlets or were, according to Israel, terrorists themselves….
Jamie Kirchick’s column is behind the Wall Street Journal paywall, but Lenny Ben-David’s Substack column is accessible to all comers: “Hamas-Approved Reporters in Gaza Serve the Terrorist Cause, And More So If They Die.” Subhead: “Gaza reporters are a branch of Hamas’s “Special Forces” dedicated to defeating Israel.” Please check it out and forward it to Bret Baier if you have his email address.
Providing some context that you won’t find on Fox News, or anywhere else I know of, for that matter, Park MacDougald adds at The Scroll:
It’s possible that the strike was a mistake, and we don’t have access to whatever information prompted the IDF and Netanyahu’s [apologetic] response. At the same time, there’s ample public evidence that Nasser Hospital is a Hamas stronghold and de facto headquarters. In June, after Hamas gunmen attacked a bus full of local employees of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the wounded aid workers were driven to Nasser Hospital—where Hamas operatives barred them from entering and prevented doctors from providing them with medical treatment. According to open-source analyst “Ph.Gritti” on X, the IDF strike hit the hospital’s vocational training floor in the complex’s al-Yassin building, believed to be the headquarters of Hamas’ Ministry of Internal Affairs. One of the Hamas operatives confirmed killed in the strike was a security officer for the ministry, according to Palestinian social media, while another was a member of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing.
Other social media posts suggest that Hamas was actively using the part of the complex targeted by the Israelis. In a series of posts, the Palestinian influencer Mohamed Hadayed attacked Hamas “mercenaries” for taking control of the al-Yassin building and hiding among civilians and journalists.
I receive The Scroll by email. I can’t find it online anymore. Yet here is Fiamma Nirenstein at JNS: “Hamas turns hospitals into weapons of war.” Subhead: “Parallel to the images from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital is the tragic fact that Hamas uses civilians as human shields and journalists as agents” — as it does with claims of famine, I should add.
