By Nour Abuaisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Gaza Media Office said Wednesday that the Israeli army is engaging in direct incitement against Palestinian journalists and media workers, setting the stage for further crimes against reporters.
The accusations follow a statement from Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee, who claimed that documents found in the Gaza Strip showed six Al Jazeera journalists were affiliated with the Palestinian resistance groups -- Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
“The Israeli army is attempting to assassinate the journalists morally by spreading false information and misleading narratives to the public, aiming to demonize them as part of its broader assault on the press,” the Office said in a statement.
The statement added that the military has continued to incite journalists covering the genocide against the Palestinian people, noting that “these journalists have successfully conveyed the reality of the occupation and its crimes to the world.”
It said the military’s narratives are “fabricated stories meant to silence the truth and justify ongoing crimes against civilians, including children, women, and the elderly.”
Regarding the documents Adraee mentioned, the media office said, “The Israeli army presented flawed information, publishing lists of individuals injured in the 2018 Great March of Return protests and falsely labeling them as resistance fighters.”
“These names belong to individuals receiving medical treatment for their injuries sustained during the protests, including journalists who were wounded while covering the events,” it said.
The statement criticized Israel for deliberately mixing unrelated data to present it as accurate information to the public, stressing that the documents “have no security or military significance.”
Among the journalists named by Adraee were Anas Al-Sharif, Alaa Salama, Hossam Shabat, Ashraf Al-Sarraj, Ismail Abu Omar and Talal Al-Arrouqi, many of whom have already been targeted in recent months by Israeli forces.
.Adraee claimed that “most of the journalists exposed by the Israeli army are at the forefront of spreading Hamas propaganda, particularly in their work with Al Jazeera in northern Gaza,” further highlighting the tension between Israel and the media.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an attack last year by Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Nearly 42,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 100,400 injured, according to local health authorities
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio