Israeli military officials announced on Wednesday that documents recovered by their soldiers in Gaza suggest that six employees of Al Jazeera are allegedly operatives for the terrorist organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The individuals named include journalists Anas al-Sharif, Talal Aruki, Ismail Farid, Alaa Salama, Ashraf Saraj, and Hosam Shabat.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the captured materials include personnel rosters, payroll registries, telephone directories, and training schedules that purportedly link these journalists to militant activities, reports Foreign Desk News. Notably, the IDF claims that Anas al-Sharif held the position of a commander in a rocket battery and was part of Hamas’s Nukhba Force. However, it remains unclear whether he was involved in the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, which were primarily executed by an elite detachment.
The IDF further accused the Al Jazeera employees of being involved in various military roles, including deployments in infantry formations, a propaganda unit, a sniper section, and a training company. They characterized these journalists as “spearheading” anti-Israel content through their coverage on the Arab-language television network.
In response, Al Jazeera strongly denied the allegations, stating that it “categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ portrayal of our journalists as terrorists” and condemning what it called “fabricated evidence.” The network described the claims as “baseless” and reaffirmed its commitment to journalistic integrity.
