LONDON: Israel’s military has operated a covert intelligence unit tasked with discrediting Palestinian journalists by falsely linking them to Hamas in an effort to justify their targeting, a magazine report claims.
The revelations, published by Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine and based on accounts from three intelligence sources, suggest the existence of a so-called “legitimization cell” that was created following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
The unit was established to deflect growing international criticism over Israel’s targeting of media workers in Gaza and to preserve global support, particularly by ensuring continued US weapons supplies that sustain its military campaign.
The report follows Israel’s recent killing of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif and three of his colleagues in a targeted airstrike on their makeshift newsroom. Israel claimed Al-Sharif was a Hamas commander, but failed to substantiate the claim with credible evidence. The killing sparked global outcry, with press freedom groups accusing Israel of deliberately targeting journalists and weaponizing unverified intelligence to manufacture legitimacy.
Before his death, Al-Sharif called for protection and warned that Israel’s accusation that linked him to Hamas, frequently repeated by Israeli officials since his reporting on famine in Gaza gained global attention, were attempts to justify his killing.
