A journalist with the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera news network reportedly produced videos for Hamas documenting its recent release of Israeli hostages. The reporter, Tamer Almisshal, is said to have orchestrated elaborate propaganda ceremonies on the terror group’s behalf, according to Israel’s i24 News.
Almisshal is listed on Al Jazeera’s website as a "producer and presenter of investigative programmes." He began working at the Doha-based news network in 2008 and spent time as a correspondent in the Gaza Strip before relocating to Qatar.
Almisshal is said to moonlight as a producer for Hamas’s propaganda arm, i24 said in a Hebrew-language report televised on Wednesday. He is one of several Al Jazeeera journalists alleged to work with the terror group and even serve in its ranks. Israel shuttered Al Jazeera’s offices in May 2024, deeming it a national security threat.
🚨 Breaking: Senior Al Jazeera Journalist Produced Hamas' Hostage Release Ceremonies 🚨
According to @BaruchYedid in an exposé for @i24NEWS_HE, the Qatari network's Tamer Mishel produced the ceremonies as well as the recent documentary, "What is Hidden is Greater," in which Al… pic.twitter.com/SAyCG3CAdC
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) January 29, 2025
Almisshal was reportedly put in charge of two separate hostage release ceremonies held in the Gaza Strip after Hamas reached a temporary ceasefire deal with Israel. The Al Jazeera reporter was put "in charge of the stage, the banners, the narrative, and the idea of dressing the female soldiers in IDF uniforms," according to an English translation of i24’s report. "He is the one Hamas designated for this task."
Hamas's elaborate ceremonies drew widespread attention in Israel and raised concerns that the terror group remains a competent fighting force, even after more than a year of war. The Israeli report suggests that the ceremonies were part of a propaganda push by Hamas to demonstrate strength and reassert its control over Gaza.
"So while in Israel we’re racking our brains: Is this staged? Is this real? Does this indicate Hamas’s strength? This is a full theatrical performance, orchestrated by one of Al Jazeera’s most skilled reporters, Tamer Almisshal, originally from Gaza," i24 said.
When the first group of Israeli hostages were released earlier this month, throngs of armed Hamas soldiers surrounded an ambulance delivering the captives back to Israel. The militants had traded in their civilian clothes for military fatigues, sending a message to Israel that Hamas is no longer hiding in tunnels and civilian homes.
As part of this power play, Hamas released carefully tailored images and videos meant to convey its strength.
Almisshal was quoted at the time as saying that Hamas intentionally chose to parade through Gaza's Saraya Square during the first prisoner swap.
"This area, heavily targeted by Israeli operations, sends a message: You didn’t break us—Hamas is still here," he said.
Almisshal is also said to be the producer behind a recent Al Jazeera documentary on Hamas that featured exclusive footage of the terror group’s former leader, Yahya Sinwar. Almisshal reportedly maintains a relationship with Ezzedine Haddad, a commander in Hamas’s armed wing responsible for overseeing the prisoner swaps with Israel.
Al Jazeera did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli report.
Multiple Al Jazeera journalists celebrated Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror spree and were reportedly embedded with militants as they stormed the Jewish state that morning.
"This is the day that restored the honor and prestige to [our] nation," Al Jazeera presenter Jamal Rayyan tweeted—and subsequently deleted—at the time. The Doha-based outlet also came under fire for publishing a comedy skit that mocked the Oct. 7 attack.
When Israel banned the outlet from operating in the country, officials accused Al Jazeera of "broadcasting propaganda in the service of Hamas, in Arabic and English, to viewers around the world, and even passing sensitive information to the enemy."