Reuters denies Israeli claims about prior knowledge of the October 7 Hamas attack “These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics,” Israel statement .

Reuters has denied allegations made by Israeli news monitor Honest Reporting that the British news agency had prior knowledge of Hamas’ October 7 attack.

“We are aware of a report by Honest Reporting and accusations made against two freelance photographers who contributed to Reuters coverage of the Oct. 7 attack,” Reuters said in a statement on Thursday.

“Reuters categorically denies that it had prior knowledge of the attack or that we embedded journalists with Hamas on Oct. 7.”

Israeli news monitoring organization Honest Reporting on Wednesday questioned why international and Gaza-based journalists working for Reuters, CNN, The New York Times, and The Associated Press were present in Israel during the early morning hours of the Hamas attack.

“Coincidence or were they part of the plan?” it said.

Reuters refuted the claims saying its staff journalists were not on the ground at the locations referred to in the Honest Reporting article and that it had acquired photographs of the attack from Gaza-based journalists.

“The photographs published by Reuters were taken two hours after Hamas fired rockets across southern Israel and more than 45 minutes after Israel said gunmen had crossed the border,” it said.

“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.”

Israel has sent a letter to the bureau chiefs of the international media outlets demanding clarification over their use of pictures taken by journalists covering the October 7 Hamas attack, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

“These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics,” the statement said.

Israel has demanded immediate action on the matter.

Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz, in similar remarks, labeled the journalists covering the October 7 attack as “terrorists,” accusing them of standing by during Hamas’ attack that Israelis said killed 1,400 people and saw more than 200 taken hostage.

“Journalists found to have known about the massacre and still chose to stand as idle bystanders while children were slaughtered – are no different than terrorists and should be treated as such,” Gantz said on X.

Meanwhile, more than 40 journalists have been killed so far in the Israel-Hamas war, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement decrying Israel’s blanket bombardment targeting reporters and media premises in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Journalists, relatives and friends pray over the body of Palestine TV journalist Mohamed Abu Hatab and eleven family members the day after they were killed when their home was hit in the Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 3, 2023.

The NGO accused Israel of its “lack of interest” in protecting journalists, which it said were “clearly covering the news.”

Israel has repeatedly said its armed forces are not targeting journalists.

The head of RSF’s Middle East desk, Jonathan Dagher, said that several reporters have been killed in Gaza since October 7.

“With their arbitrary airstrikes, the Israeli armed forces are eliminating journalists one after the other without restraint, all while their unacceptable comments betray an open contempt for international humanitarian law,” he said.