Al-Jazeera confirms Gaza hostage-taker was a former freelance contributor
Abdallah Aljamal "contributed to an op-ed in 2019" but its Jerusalem bureau chief, Omar al-Walid, said he "is not listed as working for Al Jazeera either now or in the past"
Three of the four hostages rescued by Israeli special forces from Gaza on Saturday were held at the home of Abdallah Aljamal, a Palestinian journalist and member of Hamas who contributed to an article published by Al Jazeera in 2019.
Social media erupted with rumours after Ramy Abdu, head of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, posted on X about soldiers storming the Aljamal home during a raid in Nuseirat on Saturday. He claimed that several family members, including Abdallah and his father, Dr. Ahmed Aljamal, were killed and that Aljamal was a reporter who worked or had worked in the past for Al Jazeera.
In response to Aljamal’s ties to Al Jazeera, the network’s Jerusalem bureau chief, Omar al-Walid, categorically denied any affiliation. He said: “This man is not from Al Jazeera, and he did not work for Al Jazeera at all. He is not listed as working for Al Jazeera either now or in the past.”
Al-Walid added that the network plans to sue anyone spreading rumours of a connection to Abdallah Aljamal.
Al Jazeera wrote on X: “Abdullah Al-Jamal has never worked with the network, but had contributed to an op-ed in 2019. The network also stresses that these allegations are a continuation of the process of slander and misinformation aimed at harming Al Jazeera’s reputation, professionalism, and independence. It calls for accuracy before publishing any of these allegations.”
Ramy Abdu shared an image purportedly from the Aljamal home but did not mention hostages being held there. Aljamal had previously served as a spokesman for the Hamas-run labour ministry in Gaza and contributed to several news outlets.
Amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, articles by Aljamal were published by the Palestine Chronicle, even as hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were allegedly held captive in his home.
The fourth hostage, Noa Argamani, was rescued from a nearby building during Saturday’s operation. The Israel Defence Forces and the Shin Bet security agency confirmed that Aljamal had held the three hostages in his home alongside his family.
“This is further proof that the Hamas terrorist organisation uses the civilian population as a human shield,” the military stated.
During the raid on the Aljamal home, Yamam commander Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora was fatally wounded by Hamas gunfire. Zmora died after arriving at an Israeli hospital and the rescue mission was subsequently named “Operation Arnon” in his honour.
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