Al Jazeera fires 24 journalists, staff from Gaza amid lawsuit alleging Hamas, PIJ ties - report
The lawsuit was filed in February 2025, names the employees and alleges that some Al Jazeera staff members had ties to terrorist organizations and, in some cases, were members of those groups.
Al Jazeera has terminated 24 journalists and staff members who operated within the Gaza Strip, following a lawsuit filed in the United States. The lawsuit, initiated by Shurat HaDin with the assistance of the pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, alleges that the Qatari broadcaster allegedly supported Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The lawsuit names the affected employees and claims that some of Al Jazeera's staff members had connections to terrorist organizations and, in certain instances, were members of those groups.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also launched a thorough examination of its database of journalists who lost their lives during the Israel-Hamas conflict. After Hamas and PIJ published obituaries identifying individuals previously classified as journalists by CPJ as members of their respective organizations, the CPJ removed 20 names from its database.
This review resulted from Israeli media reports that identified some individuals previously listed as journalists by international organizations as having ties to Hamas or PIJ.
According to CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg, the organization strictly adheres to a criterion: they do not include anyone in their data sets if there is evidence that the individual was involved in combat or inciting imminent violence. This policy aligns with international humanitarian law, which considers journalists affiliated with non-state actors as civilians if they do not participate directly in hostilities.
The CPJ relies on at least two sources of independent information, desk-based research, and, whenever feasible, on-site reporting before adding an individual to its database as a journalist or media worker. In-person verification by researchers outside Gaza has been impossible since the onset of the war due to Israel's refusal to grant access to international correspondents to the territory.
The CPJ has been advocating for the Israeli government and the Supreme Court to lift the restrictions that limit foreign journalists from entering Gaza. In a statement, Ginsberg strongly condemned the misrepresentation of combatants as journalists or media workers or the misuse of press insignia, emphasizing that such actions endanger every single journalist genuinely trying to report.
The CPJ is conducting a comprehensive review of the names on its lists to ensure that no individual who was actively engaged in combat is listed in their data.
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