Pulitzer winner branded Israeli hostages ‘killers’ in social media tirades

A Palestinian writer, recently awarded a Pulitzer Prize, has sparked outrage for repeatedly describing former Israeli hostages as “killers” and pushing disproven Hamas claims about the 7 October attacks.

Mosab Abu Toha, honoured for his New Yorker essays on Gaza, used social media throughout 2025 to mock, vilify and question the suffering of those abducted by Hamas.

In several posts uncovered by watchdog Honest Reporting, the poet denied torture, labelled female hostages “killers”, and described forensic reports of murdered children as “propaganda”.

“How on earth is this girl called a hostage?” he posted on 24 January about Emily Damari, a 29-year-old dual UK-Israeli national. The soldier was kidnapped on 7 October from a Kibbutz Be’eri, shot in the hand, and held for 471 days. She lost two fingers and endured a festering wound treated by Hamas “like a pin cushion”, according to her mother.

In another post on 3 February, Toha dismissed Agam Berger, an Israeli violinist and former Gaza border scout, as a “killer” after she attended her sister’s Air Force graduation. Berger, 28, was also kidnapped on 7 October and held in darkness for 482 days, where she was reportedly forced to convert and stripped of basic dignity.

On 22 February, Toha appeared to cast doubt on Israeli assertion that Hamas terrorists murdered two red-haired siblings, nine-month-old Kfir and four-year-old Ariel Bibas, with “bare hands”.

“Shame on BBC, propaganda machine,” he wrote. “If you haven’t seen any evidence, why did you publish this? Well, that’s what you are, filthy people.”

Footage from the day showed the boys and their mother dragged from Kibbutz Nir Oz. After months of confusion, their bodies were returned by Hamas in early 2025.

On another post – talking about released Gaza prisoners as “hostages” – Toha dismissed torture allegations: “When the Israeli hostages were released, did you see any torture signs? Even the soldiers among them?”

His remarks contrast sharply with survivor testimonies. Eli Sharabi, freed after 471 days, told the UN he was beaten, starved and kept in chains that tore his skin. “I weighed 44 kilos,” he said. “Half my body weight.”

A health ministry report also detailed how some teenage hostages were sexually abused.

Toha has also repeated long-debunked Hamas claims that Israel bombed Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital. “Remember when Israel denied its responsibility for the bombing of the Ahli/Baptist Hospital in 10/2023?” he posted on 13 April. Investigations have since shown the explosion came from a misfired Palestinian rocket.

Gil Hoffman, executive director of Honest Reporting, said, “The Pulitzer Prize is the top award in journalism and should not be blemished by bestowing it to a man who repeatedly twisted facts, justifies abducting civilians from their homes, and spreads fake news.”

Ofir Akunis, Israel’s consul general in New York, was blunter, ‘These posts are an absolute disgrace. This man should be condemned, not celebrated. Any decent person reading them should feel sick to their stomach.”

The Pulitzer board said Toha was honoured for essays that “combine deep reporting with the intimacy of memoir to convey the Palestinian experience”.

When asked by Jewish News whether it planned to retract the award in light of the posts, a spokesperson declined to comment directly. Instead, the board said,“The Pulitzer Board is committed to recognising excellence in reporting, literature, history and culture, and the selection process for each award is based on a review of the submitted works.”