Debunking Israel’s latest list of ‘terrorist’ journalists in Gaza
Muhammad Shehada writes in +972 on 7 October 2026:
Omar Abd Rabou is well known in Gaza as a critic of Hamas. He has repeatedly condemned October 7, calling it “the worst day of my life.” Last year, he was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by individuals affiliated with Hamas. He has been positively referenced in several Israeli media outlets. And despite Israel killing five of his siblings, he still advocates for peace and denounces extremism.
Last week, Abd Rabou was shocked to discover that the Israeli army had included his late brother, Mohammed, in “The Press Files” — a new list of 170 Palestinian journalists and media workers whom Israel killed in the Gaza war and alleges were “terrorists.”
Abd Rabou rejected these accusations immediately, writing on X that his brother was “a bona fide journalist” and “held official membership in the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.” Once hailed by Israelis as a victim of Hamas, Abd Rabou was quickly flooded on social media with Israeli accounts trolling and mocking him for challenging the army’s claim about his brother.
What is more shocking is the complete lack of evidence against Mohammed: no obituary from an armed group, no incriminating pictures, no military ID, no documents proving membership. His “Press Files” page merely states that he was a “military operative” belonging to Hamas, and claims that this is “based on multiple intelligence sources.”
In other words, the Israeli army wants you to simply trust them that a man who was assaulted and kidnapped by Hamas is the brother of a notorious Hamas militant.
Mohammed is one of 59 journalists included in “The Press Files” whose pages are devoid of any evidence or documentation whatsoever. Naturally, these names are all buried at the bottom of the list. In the cases of Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Al-Louh and Sawt Al-Aqsa’s Hassan Sammour, their pages don’t even contain the claim “based on multiple intelligence sources.”