A Palestinian journalist who crossed into Israel with Hamas on 7 October and was later identified by the IDF as a member of the terror group’s Khan Younis Brigade has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Hassan Eslaiah, a freelance photojournalist whose work was previously distributed by AP and CNN, died during a targeted strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday, according to the IDF. Palestinian sources confirmed his death on Tuesday.
“The compound was being used by the terrorists to plan and carry out terror attacks against forces and Israeli civilians,” the IDF said, describing it as a “targeted strike” against “key Hamas terrorists”.
2WFCRTX Khan Yonis, Gaza. 30th Jan, 2024. Credit: UPI/Alamy Live News
The military said the hospital had been used as a Hamas command centre and that Eslaiah was among those operating there. He was reportedly being treated for injuries from a previous Israeli strike in April, which he had survived.
At the time, the IDF and Shin Bet said Eslaiah was a member of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade and operated “under the guise of a journalist and owner of a press company”.
Freelance journalist Hassan Eslaiah films himself near a burning Israeli tank during the 7 October Hamas-led assault. Photo Credit: Honest Reporting/X
The IDF had previously released video footage showing Eslaiah inside Israel on 7 October, standing near a burning Israeli tank and photographing Hamas-led terrorists storming Kibbutz Nir Oz, where one in four residents were murdered or abducted, including children and the elderly.
A deleted social media post from 2020, shared by watchdog group Honest Reporting, showed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar embracing and kissing Eslaiah. The photo was cited by critics as evidence of his ties to the terror group.
Following the October attack, both CNN and Associated Press cut ties with Eslaiah after questions emerged about his presence during the massacre. AP later removed several of his photos from its wire service but maintained that its contributors had no prior knowledge of the attack.
The IDF said that Monday’s strike used precision munitions and aerial surveillance to limit harm to civilians. It also reiterated claims that Hamas continues to “cynically and cruelly” use hospitals, schools and aid infrastructure for military purposes.
Nasser Hospital has been previously linked to senior Hamas figures. In March, Israel killed Ismail Barhoum, a member of the group’s political bureau and its de facto prime minister, in a strike on the same compound.
The strike came just hours after the return of hostage soldier Staff Sgt Edan Alexander and ahead of a planned major offensive in Gaza. Israel says it will move forward with “Gideon’s Chariots”, a full-scale operation to dismantle Hamas and prevent its control over humanitarian aid, if no hostage deal is reached before the end of US President Trump’s visit to the region on 16 May.
Hamas is currently holding 58 hostages, including the bodies of at least 35 individuals confirmed dead by the IDF.
