A group of bipartisan lawmakers, led by Representative Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.), on Tuesday, demanded that Reuters explain whether the photographer who captured images of the October 7 Hamas attack for the wire service had advance knowledge of the invasion.
In a letter addressed to Reuters president Paul Bascobert, Lawler and 13 other congressmen pointed out that a Reuters journalist was able to provide contemporaneous reporting on an attack that began early in the morning, and questioned how the journalist would have been in a position to cover the unfolding atrocities without advance knowledge.
The letter asks Bascobert to explain whether his journalist had any contact with Hamas terrorists in the lead-up to the attack and, if not, how he knew where to position himself to cover the invasion and when to arrive.
The formal inquiry comes about two weeks after pro-Israel media watchdog, HonestReporting, published a report asking why several photojournalists — who had freelanced for Reuters, Associated Press, the New York Times, and other major media outlets — were on the ground soon after the early-morning raid on Israel began. In a tweet, HonestReporting clarified it wasn’t accusing any outlets of purposely colluding with Hamas — only questioning the ethics “regarding news outlets’ association with these freelancers.”
In response to the news story, both CNN and the Associated Press cut ties with freelancer Hassan Eslaiah, who captured photos of the Hamas invasion. Eslaiah can be seen in a photo receiving a kiss on the cheek from Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the massacre that killed 1,200 Israelis.
The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the report earlier this month, saying the ethically compromised journalists should be treated as “accomplices in crimes against humanity.”
At the time, Reuters and Associated Press denied having any involvement or prior knowledge of the attack.
The recent letter did not name the Reuters journalist who purportedly knew about the attack beforehand.
The letter was signed by: Lawler, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas), Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D., Fla.), Max Miller (R., Ohio), Nathaniel Moran (R., Texas), Clay Higgins (R., La.), Anthony D’Esposito (R., N.Y.), Michael Guest (R., Miss.), Nick Langworthy (R., N.Y.), Doug LaMalfa (R., Calif.), Keith Self (R., Texas), Don Bacon (R., Neb.), Rudy Yakym (R., Ind.), and Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.).
The letter marks just the latest instance in which news outlets have been criticized over the biased views and unsavory associations of their Gaza-based journalists.
Just last week, Marwat Al-Azza, an NBC reporter based in East Jerusalem, was arrested on suspicion of inciting terrorism and identifying with Hamas after she posted in support of the terrorist organization on social media during the Hamas terror attack. One of her posts read, “I feel like I’m watching a movie where the director is Palestinian and the protagonists are from Gaza.”