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'Better Late Than Never': Israeli Journalists Hail Killing of Palestinian Colleagues in Gaza - Israel News - Haaretz.com
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Ido David Cohen Aug 26, 2025
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli army apologized for Monday's shelling of Nasser Hospital in Gaza's Khan Yunis – which killed journalists, medics and other civilians – several Israeli journalists cast doubt on the victims' status as journalists, with some going so far as to justify or even praise the incident.
i24NEWS Arab affairs analyst Zvi Yehezkeli claimed on the evening news broadcast that the slain journalists were "[Hamas elite] Nukhba terrorists in every sense" precisely because of their professional work documenting Gaza.
He said, "It may be that the message in striking the so-called 'journalists' is the realization in Israel of how much damage was done by those who broadcast the images of hunger and Hamas' one-sided narrative, continuing the legacy of Yahya Sinwar in the guise of journalism."
"Just consider how much cognitive damage those terrorist-journalists – or, as one could call them, Nukhba-journalists – inflicted on Israel," he added, alleging that the Palestinian reporters "shaped the situation on the ground and the perception of reality, which partly enabled the war and later lent Hamas legitimacy. If Israel has decided to eliminate the journalists, better late than never. The spearhead of Hamas' military arm is those Nukhba-journalists – so in my view, Israel did well to kill them, though too late."
צבי יחזקאלי ב־i24NEWS. עיתונאים במרכאות
Throughout his remarks, the on-screen caption read: "Israel's message in striking 'journalists,'" with the word journalists in quotation marks. This segment aired hours after the IDF spokesperson had already stated midday, saying the army "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians and in no way directs strikes at journalists as such."
Those killed in the strike included Reuters photographer Hussam al-Masri, Al Jazeera cameraman Mohammad Salameh, two freelance photojournalists – Mariam Dagga and Moaz Abu Taha – and journalist Ahmed Abu Aziz.
On Tuesday, Yehezkeli released a video on Facebook claiming his commentary had been misunderstood, though he did not retract his words. "Everyone knows that a journalist in Gaza cannot be a free journalist and is subordinate to Hamas. I certainly did not call for killing journalists, only those who use 'press' credentials as cover to fight, which makes them terrorists in every respect," he said.
Earlier in the war, while still a pundit on Channel 13, Yehezkeli criticized Israel's opening strike on Gaza as too soft and argued that it should have killed 100,000 people immediately.
Channel i24 NEWS declined to comment.
Other mainstream Israeli journalists also defended the strike, echoing Yehezkeli's stance and not walking back their comments afterward.
Shirit Avitan-Cohen, the political correspondent for Israel Hayom, the Miriam Adelson-owned paper once closely associated with Netanyahu, wrote on X on Monday afternoon, after the IDF's apology: "Let me be clear: It's good that the IDF does whatever is necessary not to endanger our forces in the field. Keep it up." She also posted that she does not consider those killed to be journalists.
Later in the evening, after Netanyahu's apology, she criticized him: "This makes no sense. First, explain that the IDF struck Hamas terrorists, and only then apologize if innocent civilians were harmed. What a mistake."
Her colleague, diplomatic correspondent Ariel Kahana, shared her first post and added: "In Gaza, there are no journalists, only 'journalists.' Any message coming out of Hamas-controlled areas is aligned with their propaganda. Don't be misled."
Channel 12 political commentator Amit Segal also reacted to the strike on Monday morning, about two and a half hours before the IDF apology, writing on his Telegram channel: "In Gaza they claim: 14 killed in IDF strike on a hospital in Khan Yunis, including 3 'journalists.'" – also with quotation marks.
According to Gaza's media office, 245 journalists have been killed there since the war began, while the Committee to Protect Journalists has tallied 189 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023.
Israel, meanwhile, has continued to bar foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, despite protests from press organizations and media outlets worldwide, leaving coverage to Palestinian reporters alone.
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