A journalist in Gaza who contributed to Al Jazeera held Israeli hostages in his family home, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday after a special forces operation rescued four hostages in central Gaza.
The journalist, Abdallah Aljamal, was killed in the IDF operation on Saturday, which freed three hostages in his home. In a post on X, the IDF said Aljamal was "a Hamas terrorist holding Almog [Meir Jan], Andrey [Kozlov],and Shlomi [Ziv] hostage in his family’s home in Nuseirat. No press vest can make him innocent of the crimes he has committed." The post went on to ask Al Jazeera why Aljamal has an author page on the news organization's website.
Al Jazeera on Sunday said Aljamal "never worked with the network" but acknowledged that he had contributed to a 2019 op-ed on the site. "These allegations are completely unfounded," Al Jazeera's press office said.
Al Jazeera's staff has faced previous accusations of participating in terrorist activities.
The IDF in Feburary said Ismail Abu Omar, an Al Jazeera reporter, was present at Hamas's October 7 massacre in Israel and is a deputy commander for the terrorist group.
Three days earlier, the IDF said Mohamed Washah, another reporter for Al Jazeera, was a "prominent commander" in a Hamas anti-tank unit.
The Qatari-backed media outlet has also been accused of biased and inaccurate coverage of the war in Gaza. Al Jazeera in March published, then quietly deleted, a story that falsely alleged the rape of Gazan women by Israeli soldiers. Israel on Sunday extended the country’s ban on Al Jazeera for another 45 days, citing national security concerns.