Last week, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed two Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza: Suleiman Hani Saliman Hajaj, the deputy commander of an engineering cell, and Samir al-Rifai. What is notable about these assassinations is that the targets were killed while committing a double war crime: 1) operating in the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City and 2) posing as journalists.
While groups like UNESCO, Pulitzer, the International Press Institute, and Reach All Women in War are giving awards to Gazan journalists en masse, terrorists continue to pose as journalists in Gaza.
Not long ago, the IDF uncovered documents in Gaza proving that six “journalists” who worked with Al-Jazeera — Ismail Abu Omar, Talal al-Arrouqi, Ashraf al-Sarraj, Anas al-Sharif, Alaa Salameh, and Hossam Shabat — had ties to either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. According to the IDF, as reported in the Israeli press, these documents in Arabic show “personnel spreadsheets, lists of training courses, telephone books and salary documents,” and “unequivocally prove” their ties to the terrorist groups. Those six terrorists/Al-Jazeera journalists are/were:
- Ismail Abu Omar
Ismail Abu Omar was a deputy commander of Hamas’s Khan Yunis East Brigade. Posing as a journalist, he joined the invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. In a video, Abu Omar documents his own editorializing of the attack in real time: “There is a battle underway, gunfire zero distance from the area of Nir Oz, between jihad fighters and the resistance and the occupation soldiers. God willing, the guys are making progress.”
Abu Omar’s work has been featured in AP, the New York Times, and Reuters. The IDF wounded him during their attack on Rafah, and Al-Jazeera reported that after this, Abu Omar was evacuated to Qatar for medical treatment. He was reportedly visited at his hospital bedside by the chairman of the board of directors of Al-Jazeera.
- Talal al-Arrouqi
Talal al-Arrouqi was a commander in Hamas’s Nuseirat Battalion, and also worked for Al-Jazeera. Several screen captures of his X account on October 7-10, 2023, show him glorifying the October 7 attacks on Israel, including comments like “With parachutes, teacher, God is great and praise be to God,” and “500 pigs were killed according to their sources.” [The author assumes from looking through public sources that al-Arrouqi remains alive in Gaza.]
- Ashraf al-Sarraj
Ashraf al-Sarraj served in Islamic Jihad’s Bureij Battalion, and also worked for Al-Jazeera. He posted a 13-minute video praising the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel on that same day. He praised the late senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, stating in a post on X that “Our pride fills the West Bank and its alleys because of what you do and the bravery you show.” He also extensively praised, on X, the Islamic Jihad chief Ziyad al-Nakhalah. [The author assumes from looking through public sources that al-Sarraj remains alive in Gaza.]
- Anas al-Sharif
Al-Sharif served in Hamas’s Nuseirat Battalion and was also a member of a Hamas rocket-launching squad. According to an interview with the IDF, al-Sharif admitted that he had previously joined Hamas’s al-Qasam Brigades in 2021. He further admitted to the IDF that he worked as a “cleaning supervisor” at Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he was arrested. Another source claims that al-Sharif had been hiding at one point in the Indonesian Hospital. So, al-Sharif appears to be a terrorist operative who embedded himself in at least two civilian hospitals.
In his interview with the IDF, al-Sharif stated that both Hamas and Islamic Jihad had operatives in Kamal Adwan Hospital transporting weapons, and using the hospital for “observation and patrols.”
Al-Sharif was reportedly close to Fathi Hammad, a member of Hamas’s Political Bureau, and al-Sharif even hosted Hammad at his home. There are also photos online showing al-Sharif posing with Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar, and the late leader of Hamas and the architect of the Oct. 7 attack, Yahya Sinwar. Al-Sharif’s Telegram features ample Hamas propaganda.
In his double life as a journalist, al-Sharif worked for Al-Jazeera and received the Best Young Journalist Award in Palestine in 2018.
- Alaa Salameh
Alaa Salameh was the deputy of the Islamic Jihad’s Shaboura Battalion’s propaganda unit. As a “journalist,” Salameh worked not only for Al-Jazeera, but he was also a propagandist for Islamic Jihad’s media. In one clip, he can be seen interviewing a Gazan child, asking him if he is ready “[f]or the war we will fight with the Jews and to kill all the Jews.” Salameh was also interviewed by the newspaper of the United Kingdom’s Socialist Workers Party. [The author assumes from looking through public sources that Salameh remains alive in Gaza.]
- Hossam Shabat
Hossam Shabat was reportedly killed by the IDF in March 2025 in an airstrike on his car in Northern Gaza. According to the IDF, Shabat was a sniper in Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion and participated in attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians alike. He also worked for Al-Jazeera.
In addition to the above terrorists unmasked by the IDF, additional terrorists/journalists in Gaza included:
- Ismail al-Ghoul
In July 2024, the IDF killed Ismail al-Ghoul as he was embedded with civilians in the Shati Refugee Camp near Gaza City. According to the documents taken from Gaza by the IDF, al-Ghoul was an engineer for Hamas. He was also a journalist for Al-Jazeera.
- Abdallah Aljamal
In June 2024, the IDF killed Abdallah Aljamal, a Hamas spokesman/journalist, and kidnapper of Israeli hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andri Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. Aljamal had written for Al-Jazeera, and more extensively, the Palestine Chronicle.
- Mohamed Washah
Mohamed Washah, according to images and documents found in his personal laptop recovered by the IDF in Gaza, was a commander of a Hamas anti-armor missile systems division and also worked in Hamas’s air unit. Images from the laptop include Washah operating anti-tank missiles and working with a drone.
Additionally, in January 2024, in Rafah, the IDF killed two journalists (Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria) who had worked for Al-Jazeera as they were in the same car as a terror operative.
Last week’s assassinations by the IDF of terrorists masquerading as journalists should come as no surprise, given the extent to which Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad embed themselves within Gaza’s civilian population. In particular, these terrorist groups have consistently fielded terrorists who happen to have double lives as journalists. With these professional masks, terrorist groups in Gaza are able to dupe the world that Israel is targeting journalists.
READ MORE from Steve Postal:
Despite $1.45 Billion In US Aid, Jordan Textbooks Preach Jihad, Hatred for Jews, Israel
Despite Recent Wins, Durable Syria–Israel Peace Faces Long Odds
‘Operation Good Neighbor’ Leader Reflects on Israel’s Humanitarian Efforts in Syria
