Israel targeted my colleague in an airstrike, claiming that he was a Hamas fighter. Israel is lying.
Israel targeted my colleague, Hassan Eslayeh, claiming that he was a Hamas fighter. This isn’t the first time Israel has used this lie to justify targeting journalists, paramedics, and rescue workers.
‘They do what they accuse us of doing’
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Hassan wasn’t awake for long before he was overcome by pain and a headache caused by a fractured skull, amputated fingers on his right hand, shrapnel wounds, and various burns on his body. Another journalist on my team with Hassan, Ibrahim Muharab, accessed Hassan’s hospital room and put him on the phone with me on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.
His voice was tired, but his spirits were high. I asked him about the Israeli military’s claim, and he scoffed that he wasn’t surprised by the accusations. “The majority of Israeli journalists who entered Gaza under army protection participated in the destruction of Palestinian families’ homes,” he said. “All of which is documented in video and audio. The faces and names of these Israeli journalists are well-known, and they do what they accuse us of doing.”
Every accusation is a confession. In October 2024, Israeli journalist Danny Kushmaro participated in the demolition of a home in a village in Southern Lebanon — and filmed himself doing it for a Channel 12 report. After pressing the button that blew up the house, he signed off by saying, “Don’t mess with the Jews.”
It is difficult for Hassan to speak much due to his injuries, but he tells me that he hopes to recover quickly and return to the work that Israel is trying to prevent him from doing.
But Hassan knows that there’s now a target on his back, much like Israel put six journalists on a hit list last October. One of them was Hossam Shabat.
Hassan also knows that the Israeli army has no problem bombing hospitals or schools when they want to target a specific person. Nasser Hospital, where Hassan is currently being treated, was targeted in recent weeks when a member of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Barhoum, sought treatment at the medical center. The strike killed Barhoum and a 16-year-old boy.
“It would not be difficult for the occupation to assassinate me again, especially with the increasing incitement I hear and see against me,” Hassan said. “They may target me inside the hospital, in this room of mine. What can I do?”
“I am not fighting. I am working, and I bear responsibility for my profession,” Hassan continued. “If the Israeli army kills me, the photos I took and the stories I told the world will live on. My name, my cause, and my voice will live on — and the occupation will die.”
Israel targeted my colleague, Hassan Eslayeh, claiming that he was a Hamas fighter. This isn’t the first time Israel has used this lie to justify targeting journalists, paramedics, and rescue workers.
April 9, 2025
MONDOWEISS
Hassan Eslayeh in Nasser Hospital after his attempted assassination by the Israeli army. (Photo: Social Media)
Last Monday, I saw several colleagues posting on social media that the Israeli army had bombed a journalists’ tent outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The tent caught fire and burned several people alive. A terrifying video emerged showing a journalist named Ahmad Mansour sitting in a chair with his head and chest on fire. People tried to pull him away from the flames, but to no avail, and he later succumbed to his wounds while in the ICU.
Another journalist in the tent was my colleague, Hassan Eslayeh, who I frequently rely upon for updates and gathering testimonies for my Mondoweiss reports. Hassan is usually the first to send me news, video footage, and interviews with people who have witnessed bombings in Gaza. But this time, Hassan was the news — and he was also the direct target of the attack.
The Israeli army declared in a statement on April 7 that the bombing had targeted Hassan, describing him as a “Hamas terrorist” and a part of the organization’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, in Khan Younis.
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The army stated that Hassan “operates under the guise of a journalist and owns a press company,” but is, in fact, a member of “Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade.”
“On October 7, he infiltrated Israeli territory and participated in Hamas’ murderous massacre,” the army stated, saying that Hassan had “documented and uploaded the footage of looting, arson, and murder to social media.”
Hassan survived the assassination attempt but was severely injured and lost two fingers.
“The occupation is trying to obliterate the image of Palestinian journalists with these false claims that they belong to Hamas and other factions,” Hassan told me over the phone from Nasser Hospital.
But it is hardly the first time that Israel accuses Palestinian civil society workers — journalists, paramedics, aid workers — of being affiliated with Hamas or other armed factions in Gaza. Last month, Israel assassinated Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent and Drop Site News contributor Hossam Shabat, claiming that he was a Hamas operative. Shortly after, the Israeli army killed 15 paramedics and rescue workers in Rafah, falsely claiming that “at least 6” of the medics were Hamas militants. There are numerous other examples from over 18 months of genocide.
But during those 18 months, Hassan’s whereabouts were always well-known. From my experience working with him during this period, he was easily accessible via WhatsApp or phone call at all times, always based at journalists’ gathering points and never absent.
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Hamas and how the Qassam Brigades operate will instantly recognize how utterly incoherent the Israeli army’s claims are. But Israel is counting on people’s ignorance and gullibility to believe that a dedicated journalist who operates in the field 24/7 also moonlights as a Hamas fighter.
“The army accused me of fighting in Khan Younis on October 7, but I was covering the events in Rafah,” Hassan said, referring to the moment that the Gaza border fence was torn down on October 7. “I do not belong to any party. I don’t do anything in Gaza other than my well-known journalistic work, which the entire world knows.”
However, Israeli newspapers took the Israeli army’s initial claim and launched a campaign of incitement against Hassan. Several outlets published photos and recorded clips of Hassan on October 7 as he documented the moment when the Palestinian resistance stormed the border fence and burned a tank that was stationed there. They also included a photo of him with former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The photo of Hassan with Sinwar was taken at an event Hassan was covering. Snapping a photo with the leader of a Palestinian faction in Gaza is commonplace, and something that anyone would do. The non-credible nature of such Israeli claims — or any Israeli claim — should indicate that anything the Israeli army says must be treated with extreme skepticism.
Last Monday, I saw several colleagues posting on social media that the Israeli army had bombed a journalists’ tent outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The tent caught fire and burned several people alive. A terrifying video emerged showing a journalist named Ahmad Mansour sitting in a chair with his head and chest on fire. People tried to pull him away from the flames, but to no avail, and he later succumbed to his wounds while in the ICU.
Another journalist in the tent was my colleague, Hassan Eslayeh, who I frequently rely upon for updates and gathering testimonies for my Mondoweiss reports. Hassan is usually the first to send me news, video footage, and interviews with people who have witnessed bombings in Gaza. But this time, Hassan was the news — and he was also the direct target of the attack.
The Israeli army declared in a statement on April 7 that the bombing had targeted Hassan, describing him as a “Hamas terrorist” and a part of the organization’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, in Khan Younis.
Advertisement
The army stated that Hassan “operates under the guise of a journalist and owns a press company,” but is, in fact, a member of “Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade.”
“On October 7, he infiltrated Israeli territory and participated in Hamas’ murderous massacre,” the army stated, saying that Hassan had “documented and uploaded the footage of looting, arson, and murder to social media.”
Hassan survived the assassination attempt but was severely injured and lost two fingers.
“The occupation is trying to obliterate the image of Palestinian journalists with these false claims that they belong to Hamas and other factions,” Hassan told me over the phone from Nasser Hospital.
But it is hardly the first time that Israel accuses Palestinian civil society workers — journalists, paramedics, aid workers — of being affiliated with Hamas or other armed factions in Gaza. Last month, Israel assassinated Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent and Drop Site News contributor Hossam Shabat, claiming that he was a Hamas operative. Shortly after, the Israeli army killed 15 paramedics and rescue workers in Rafah, falsely claiming that “at least 6” of the medics were Hamas militants. There are numerous other examples from over 18 months of genocide.
But during those 18 months, Hassan’s whereabouts were always well-known. From my experience working with him during this period, he was easily accessible via WhatsApp or phone call at all times, always based at journalists’ gathering points and never absent.
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Hamas and how the Qassam Brigades operate will instantly recognize how utterly incoherent the Israeli army’s claims are. But Israel is counting on people’s ignorance and gullibility to believe that a dedicated journalist who operates in the field 24/7 also moonlights as a Hamas fighter.
“The army accused me of fighting in Khan Younis on October 7, but I was covering the events in Rafah,” Hassan said, referring to the moment that the Gaza border fence was torn down on October 7. “I do not belong to any party. I don’t do anything in Gaza other than my well-known journalistic work, which the entire world knows.”
However, Israeli newspapers took the Israeli army’s initial claim and launched a campaign of incitement against Hassan. Several outlets published photos and recorded clips of Hassan on October 7 as he documented the moment when the Palestinian resistance stormed the border fence and burned a tank that was stationed there. They also included a photo of him with former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The photo of Hassan with Sinwar was taken at an event Hassan was covering. Snapping a photo with the leader of a Palestinian faction in Gaza is commonplace, and something that anyone would do. The non-credible nature of such Israeli claims — or any Israeli claim — should indicate that anything the Israeli army says must be treated with extreme skepticism.
‘They do what they accuse us of doing’
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Hassan wasn’t awake for long before he was overcome by pain and a headache caused by a fractured skull, amputated fingers on his right hand, shrapnel wounds, and various burns on his body. Another journalist on my team with Hassan, Ibrahim Muharab, accessed Hassan’s hospital room and put him on the phone with me on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.
His voice was tired, but his spirits were high. I asked him about the Israeli military’s claim, and he scoffed that he wasn’t surprised by the accusations. “The majority of Israeli journalists who entered Gaza under army protection participated in the destruction of Palestinian families’ homes,” he said. “All of which is documented in video and audio. The faces and names of these Israeli journalists are well-known, and they do what they accuse us of doing.”
Every accusation is a confession. In October 2024, Israeli journalist Danny Kushmaro participated in the demolition of a home in a village in Southern Lebanon — and filmed himself doing it for a Channel 12 report. After pressing the button that blew up the house, he signed off by saying, “Don’t mess with the Jews.”
It is difficult for Hassan to speak much due to his injuries, but he tells me that he hopes to recover quickly and return to the work that Israel is trying to prevent him from doing.
But Hassan knows that there’s now a target on his back, much like Israel put six journalists on a hit list last October. One of them was Hossam Shabat.
Hassan also knows that the Israeli army has no problem bombing hospitals or schools when they want to target a specific person. Nasser Hospital, where Hassan is currently being treated, was targeted in recent weeks when a member of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Barhoum, sought treatment at the medical center. The strike killed Barhoum and a 16-year-old boy.
“It would not be difficult for the occupation to assassinate me again, especially with the increasing incitement I hear and see against me,” Hassan said. “They may target me inside the hospital, in this room of mine. What can I do?”
“I am not fighting. I am working, and I bear responsibility for my profession,” Hassan continued. “If the Israeli army kills me, the photos I took and the stories I told the world will live on. My name, my cause, and my voice will live on — and the occupation will die.”
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