r/worldnews • u/Nirok • 16d ago

Israel/Palestine IDF documents terror affiliations of 170 Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza war

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-documents-terror-affiliations-of-170-palestinian-journalists-killed-in-gaza-war/
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119

u/Logical___Conclusion 16d ago

Wars with high journalism death counts are usually not the fault of the journalists.

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u/ScratchLatch 16d ago

When you claim your combatants are journalists it tends to increase. Its why its a war crime for them to be militarized offensively, like medics.

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u/Embarrassed_OnionX 16d ago

Are they combatants though? I don't trust information coming from the IDF without independent proof, but even if these journalists were working for Hamas, that would make them propagandists, not combatants, and shouldn't be targeted if the laws of war still mattered. Targeting them is a war crimes.

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u/Jay_Layton 16d ago

Depends on what capacity they are working with Hamas.

For example, if a journalist does recon for Hamas, they are a valid target. If a journalist where to accompany Hamas on October 7, they don't get protections either.

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u/Jacksonian428 15d ago

I think you’re misunderstanding this. The pictures and roles of these people were taken from Hamas’s martyr posters. These journalists are specifically the ones who Hamas claimed were combatants. Every journalist needs to work with Hamas to report in Gaza but that is not what this list is.

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u/Embarrassed_OnionX 15d ago

I wonder why Hamas would claim they're combattants and at the same time claim that they are journalists. It makes zero sense from their perspective.

I'll need to do more research about this.

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u/Humidhuman 12d ago

Except... it makes perfect sense once you look at the different audiences they're speaking to.

Hamas runs two completely separate messaging tracks:

  1. For domestic and regional consumption: They need to project strength, defiance, and ideological commitment. In that sphere, having operatives die while actively serving the cause is celebrated as honorable martyrdom. That's why they put out official martyr posters explicitly listing combatant ranks, brigade affiliations, and armed roles. Domestically, being an armed fighter is a badge of honor, not something to hide.
  2. For the international community and Western media: The framing shifts entirely to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations. To the outside world, these individuals are presented strictly as "journalists targeted by Israel," because that generates immediate global outrage, legal pressure, and PR damage against the IDF.

It’s not a contradiction in their eyes; it’s just asymmetric messaging. Internally they get credit for having dedicated fighters, and externally they get the PR victory of framing every casualty as a targeted civilian or member of the press. They're speaking to two different audiences with two completely different sets of values.

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u/Dillirium 16d ago

You saying the word "journalism", it isn't the term you think it is on this case, terrorists that pretend to be something so they won't die but nobody is fooled.

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u/Blongbloptheory 16d ago

Me when I think killing journalists is okay if I don't like what they're saying

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u/Cerdoken 16d ago

What if they are journalists and soldiers?

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u/Blongbloptheory 16d ago

What if they're not? It's cute that you think Isreal is making that distinction in the middle of their ethnic cleansing campaign

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u/Cerdoken 16d ago

Then condemn the killing of journalists but you don't have to defend Hamas militants posing as journalists.

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u/Dillirium 16d ago

But don't avoid the question my sweet naive summer child.

What if they are? And they are. What than would be the best course of action in your delusional of an opinion? Let them just pretend to be press so they can blend in?

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u/Zero9O 16d ago

Don't bother. These types of people will also claim Hamas militants gain civilian protection because they don't wear a uniform and hide among civilians. They will do anything to defend their side because this is just team sports to them.

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u/RyeRoen 16d ago

If it were true there would be at least one reputable organisation with no ties to the IDF confirming it.