The Israeli military on Sunday accused a Palestinian journalist of holding three Israeli hostages in his family's home before they were rescued during a deadly raid in Gaza.
In a message posted on social media, the Israel Defense Forces called Abdallah Aljamal a "Hamas terrorist" and attached a screenshot of a photo and profile apparently from the Al Jazeera website.
The profile described Aljamal as a "Gaza-based reporter and photojournalist" who "often reports from the ongoing 'March of Return' protests at the fence separating besieged Gaza from Israel."
No "press vest can make him innocent of the crimes he has committed," the IDF said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Journalist” Abdallah Aljamal was a Hamas terrorist holding Almog, Andrey and Shlomi hostage in his family’s home in Nuseirat.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 9, 2024
No press vest can make him innocent of the crimes he has committed.@AlJazeera what’s this terrorist doing on your website? pic.twitter.com/1EM8C7csnw
The IDF also directed a question to the X account of Al Jazeera's public relations team, asking: "What's this terrorist doing on your website?"
The Al Jazeera website shows that Aljamal cowrote an opinion column published on Jan. 22, 2019, with the headline, "Tales of torture from Israel's prisons."
Earlier Sunday, Al Jazeera denied what it called "rumors" tying it to Aljamal.
"This man is not from Al Jazeera, and he did not work for Al Jazeera at all, and he is not listed as working for Al Jazeera neither now nor in the past," Jerusalem bureau chief Omar al-Walid said, according to the Times of Israel. "We do not know him, and all the rumors that have been spread are empty of content and not true at all."
Last month, Israel ordered Al Jazeera to close its offices in Israel, removed its channels from the country's main cable and satellite providers, and seized some of its equipment.
Ramy Abdul, chairman of the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, wrote on X that Israeli commandos "executed" Aljamal, 36, his wife and father after using a ladder to break into the older man's home in Nuseirat on Saturday.
In an initial testimony documenting the killings committed by the Israeli army in the Nuseirat camp today, the @EuroMedHR reported that the Israeli army used a ladder to enter the home of Dr. Ahmed Al-Jamal. The army immediately executed 36-year-old Fatima Al-Jamal upon… pic.twitter.com/DjfjerIZTf
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) June 8, 2024
Abdul described Aljamal as a freelance journalist who formerly worked for several media outlets and more recently was the spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Labor.
Hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Koslov and Shlomi Ziv were rescued from Aljamal's family home, the IDF said.
Another hostage, Noa Argamani, was also rescued reportedly from another apartment in Nuseirat.
All four were kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the surprise attacks Hamas launched against Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the latest Mideast War.
At least 274 Palestinians were killed during Saturday's rescue mission, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israeli officials have said its military caused fewer that 100 casualties in response to what it described as heavy fire against its forces from all sides.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday said that "innocent people were tragically killed," but blamed Hamas for holding hostages and putting military encampments "in the heart of crowded civilian areas" in Gaza.
