When Hamas launched their surprise attack and massacred 1,400 Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, CNN’s freelance photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah was at the scene.
Now, some newly viral photos have shown Eslaiah posing with Hamas leadership — and have raised questions about his involvement in the slaughter.
Eslaiah has worked for mainstream media outlets like CNN and the Associated Press. He’s also worked with Reuters, a news agency based in the UK.
The photos of Eslaiah were publicized by HonestReporting, a pro-Israeli watchdog. One photo appears to be a screenshot of a tweet by Eslaiah himself, and it shows him posing in front of an Israeli tank. The photos have yet to be independently verified.
HonestReporting demanded some answers.
The organization asked —
What were they doing there so early on what would ordinarily have been a quiet Saturday morning? Was it coordinated with Hamas? Did the respectable wire services, which published their photos, approve of their presence inside enemy territory, together with the terrorist infiltrators? Did the photojournalists who freelance for other media, like CNN and The New York Times, notify these outlets?…
Is it conceivable to assume that “journalists” just happened to appear early in the morning at the border without prior coordination with the terrorists? Or were they part of the plan?
Even if they didn’t know the exact details of what was going to happen, once it unfolded did they not realize they were breaching a border? And if so, did they notify the news agencies? Some sort of communication was undoubtedly necessary — before, after or during the attack — in order to get the photos published.
HonestReporting stopped just short of accusing these news agencies of colluding to plan the attack. In fact, CNN, Reuters, and the AP have all released statements denying any prior knowledge of Hamas’ plan to attack Israelis on their own soil.
Eslaiah’s past employers quickly distanced themselves from him. Reuters said that it had only started working with Eslaiah on the day of the attack.
“Reuters acquired photographs from two Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of Oct. 7, with whom it did not have a prior relationship,” the news agency said in a statement. “Reuters categorically denies… that we embedded journalists with Hamas on Oct. 7.”
Meanwhile, CNN and the AP have announced their decisions to cut ties with Eslaiah, although CNN said they stand by the accuracy of Eslaiah’s reporting.
CNN told Ynet, “While we have not at this time found reason to doubt the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us, we have decided to suspend all ties with him.”
On a Thursday call, CNN’s new CEO reportedly described the scandal as “unfortunate news.”
The AP said in a statement, “The first pictures AP received from any freelancer show they were taken more than an hour after the attacks began. No AP staff were at the border at the time of the attacks, nor did any AP staffer cross the border at any time. We are no longer working with Hassan Eslaiah, who had been an occasional freelancer for AP and other international news organizations in Gaza.”
The AP published photos by three other photojournalists, besides Eslaiah, on the morning of the attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t satisfied. He released a statement describing the photojournalists as “accomplices in crimes against humanity.”
Take a look at the photos in circulation —
And here is footage of Eslaiah after he crossed into Israel and took photos of a burning Israeli tank. He then captured infiltrators entering Kibbutz Kfar Azza.
Note that he is not identifiable as a member of the press. But AP & CNN deemed it acceptable to use his services. pic.twitter.com/fA0VI2df2i
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 8, 2023
In the hours following our expose, new material is still coming to light concerning Gazan freelance journalist Hassan Eslaiah whom both AP & CNN used on Oct. 7.
Here he is pictured with Hamas leader and mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar. https://t.co/S9pXeIGaFq pic.twitter.com/RmEZU5RsM8
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 8, 2023
The Horn editorial team