Families of the victims of the Oct. 7 attack at the Nova music festival in Israel filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Reuters and The Associated Press, claiming the news agencies may have employed people with connections to the Hamas terrorists.
According to reports by World Israel News, the lawsuit alleges the journalists, hailing from Gaza, had prior knowledge of the attack and didn’t intervene, implicating the agencies in the devastation.
The plaintiffs argue that the publication of reports and photographs by the accused journalists, as they were allegedly engaged in the massacre, directly contravenes reporter ethics and has caused significant harm and grief to those affected.
“Any excuse or justification that could be raised claiming the rules of journalism — such as the right of the public to know — cannot justify a situation whereby a reporter for one of the agencies would be present, participate and film the commission of a serious crime, such as the abduction of an elderly woman from her home,” the lawsuit states.
It adds, “There is no doubt that the ‘journalists’ who were present at the massacre could have assisted the victims and notified Israeli authorities in advance so that the atrocities would have been prevented. The news agencies who had contracted the services of the ‘journalists,’ and who are responsible directly for their actions, are liable for damages caused to the plaintiffs.”
The assertion that journalistic integrity or public right to know could excuse participation or filming of serious criminal activity is rejected in the lawsuit. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of five attendees at the Nova festival, tragically cut short from enjoying the event near the Kibbitz Reim in Israel. Court documents reveal the names of the deceased as Mai Naim, Abir Lotan, Guy Gabriel Levi, Shalev Madmoni and Shani Louk — all young people with bright futures.
This lawsuit follows several months after a report by HonestReporting suggesting the possible involvement of four Gazan journalists with Hamas on the day of the attack. Identified as Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud, and Hatem Ali, they were reported to have had connections to major news outlets such as Reuters, AP, The New York Times and CNN.
Eslaiah, whose ties with AP were severed in November, was accused of being near Hamas terrorists during the offensive. Despite riding back to Gaza with militants after the slaughter, he has denied foreknowledge of the raid or connection to Hamas. A photograph from 2020, which gained attention online, shows Eslaiah with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a seemingly friendly pose.
Reuters last month denied the allegations raised by the lawsuit and criticized HonestReporting’s story.
“We dispute, in the strongest terms, any allegation that Reuters aided and abetted terrorism or provided support to terrorists,” a Reuters spokesperson told the New York Post in a statement. “Reuters is committed to reporting news fairly, accurately and independently in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
“Reuters categorically denies that it had prior knowledge of the attack or that we embedded journalists with Hamas on October 7.”
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