The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted Thursday it killed Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera journalist, and claimed he was an operative for Hamas.
Al-Ghoul and his cameraman, Rami al-Rifi, were killed in an IDF airstrike on their car Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported. The IDF identified al-Ghoul as a “Nukhba terrorist,” claiming he was an instructor to other members “on how to record operations and was actively involved in recording and publicizing attacks against IDF troops,” and that his “activities in the field were a vital part of Hamas’ military activity.”(RELATED: Some International Aid Agency Employees Were Involved In Kidnapping Operations During Oct 7 Massacre, Israel Says)
🔴ELIMINATED: Ismail al-Ghoul, a Hamas Military Wing operative, Nukhba terrorist and @AJEnglish journalist
As part of his role in the military wing, Al-Ghoul instructed other operatives on how to record operations and was actively involved in recording and publicizing attacks…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 1, 2024
In a press statement, the Qatari-funded media outlet said they condemned “in the strongest terms the targeted assassination of Al Jazeera Arabic Channel’s correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al Rifi,” and maintained that Al-Ghoul “was renowned for his professionalism and dedication, bringing global attention to the suffering of the people of Gaza and the atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation forces.”
Al Jazeera added in its statement that they were committed to getting justice for the over 160 journalists slain in the Gaza Strip.
Joe Truzman, a senior analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, tweeted a photo of the deceased while noting that the “Nukhba unit” al-Ghoul allegedly worked with “participated in the October 7 massacre.”
The IDF says it eliminated Ismail al-Ghoul, the al-Jazeera journalist killed in an airstrike in Gaza. The IDF says he was a member of Hamas’ Nukhba unit and participated in the October 7 massacre. pic.twitter.com/c7PxOcidC9
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) August 1, 2024
بأجواء حزينة يودع المخيم الرجل الوطني الكبير، من على أنقاض منزل رئيس حركة حماس إسماعيل هنية في مخيم الشاطيء غرب مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/y5MUOHi5aC
— إسماعيل الغول – Ismail Alghoul (@ismail_gh2) July 31, 2024
This is not the first time a journalist for the Qatari-based media network has been accused of working for terrorists. In February, the IDF claimed that journalist Muhammad Washah served as a senior Hamas operative. Israeli authorities raided and shut down Al-Jazeera in Israel back in May over the accusation that the network acted as “Hamas’s mouthpieces in Israel” and incited terrorism.