An Al Jazeera journalist secretly worked for Hamas on the side, serving as a "prominent commander" in the terrorist group’s anti-tank missile units before being promoted to a research-focused role, the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday.
"In the morning, a journalist on Al Jazeera, and in the evening, a terrorist in Hamas!" IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said of journalist Mohammed Wishah.
Adraee said the IDF found the journalist’s laptop inside a Hamas camp in the northern Gaza Strip. "A laptop belonging to someone named Muhammed Samir Muhammed Wishah, born in 1986 from Bureij, was seized," Adraee said. "It is clear from the documents that Muhammed Wishah is a prominent commander in the anti-tank missile units in the military wing of Hamas."
#عاجل #خاص في الصباح صحفي في قناة #الجزيرة وفي المساء مخرب في حماس! @AJArabic
⭕️خلال نشاط لقواتنا قبل عدة أسابيع داخل احدى معسكرات حماس في شمال قطاع غزة تم ضبط كمبيوتر متحرك يعود إلى المدعو محمد سمير محمد وشاح من مواليد 1986 من البريج حيث يتضح من المستندات ان محمد وشاح هو قائد… pic.twitter.com/s8CX1kOfvP
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) February 11, 2024
Adraee’s X post includes photos showing the Al Jazeera journalist teaching Hamas members how to fire anti-tank missiles and set up equipment. The journalist was transferred in late 2022 to the field of research and development in the Hamas Air Force, according to the seized documents, Adraee said.
"Who knows how many details we will reveal about the presence of other terrorists in journalistic uniforms in the near future?" Adraee wrote in the post.
The IDF, calling out the Qatari state-owned news network, reposted Adraee’s post and wrote, "Hey @AlJazeera, we thought your journalists were supposed to give unbiased reports on situations, not actively participate in creating them on the front lines as Hamas terrorists."
In January, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari revealed evidence showing that two Gazan journalists killed by the IDF belonged to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terrorist organization.