Former Hostage Shlomi Ziv Speaks Out: “I Was Held Captive by a Hamas Member Posing as a Journalist”.

Former Hostage Shlomi Ziv Speaks Out: “I Was Held Captive by a Hamas Member Posing as a Journalist”. A former Israeli hostage criticized Al Jazeera for defending a Hamas operative posing as a journalist, revealing his captor’s similar deception. The IDF exposed the operative’s role in coordinating attacks, raising concerns about media outlets employing terror supporters.

Shlomi Ziv, a former Israeli hostage freed from Gaza in February 2025, publicly condemned Al Jazeera on X for defending Anas Al-Sharif, a Hamas operative killed in an Israeli airstrike on August 10. Ziv, who was abducted during the October 7, 2023, Nova music festival attack, revealed that one of his captors in Gaza operated under the guise of a journalist. “I was held by a journalist in captivity and his father was a Doctor!!!!!!!!” Ziv wrote, highlighting how Hamas members use civilian professions to mask their terrorist activities. Ziv also targeted Israeli MK Ayman Odeh, who expressed sorrow over Al-Sharif’s death, accusing him of supporting terrorism. “Everyone is a Hamas operative, there are no journalists there who aren’t Hamas because they would kill him for telling the truth,” Ziv stated. He vowed, “I will act with all my strength to throw you out of the Knesset, my word, I promise you, you terror supporter.”

The IDF confirmed Al-Sharif, killed alongside five others in a Gaza airstrike, was a Hamas member since 2013, using his Al Jazeera role as a cover to facilitate rocket attacks against Israel. Intelligence documents, including personnel rosters, terror training records, internal phonebooks, and salary details, exposed Al-Sharif as a cell leader in Hamas’s military wing, actively coordinating attacks on Israeli civilians and forces. The IDF emphasized that his journalistic position enabled him to blend terrorist operations with media activities, a tactic increasingly used by Hamas to shield its members.

This revelation underscores broader concerns about media outlets like Al Jazeera presenting pro-Hamas narratives and employing individuals with terror affiliations. Ziv’s experience, coupled with the IDF’s evidence, highlights the challenges of distinguishing legitimate journalism from propaganda in war zones, especially as Hamas exploits such roles to evade accountability while perpetuating violence.

Exclusive.

Terrorist who kept Israeli citizens as hostages knew about Oct. 7 attack ahead of time, dressed kid as Hamas fighter: lawsuit. By Isabel Vincent. Published Feb. 24, 2025, 6:04 p.m. ET

Three former Israeli hostages rescued in a daring Israel Defense Forces raid last year are suing a US non-profit that employed the Hamas terrorist who held them captive for more than 200 days.

Former hostages Shlomi Ziv and Andrey Kozlov have signed on as plaintiffs to a lawsuit filed in Seattle federal court last year by fellow hostage Almog Meir Jan, The Post has learned.

The new filing against the Olympia, Washington-based nonprofit People Media Project and its sister website Palestine Chronicle, contains more details of the terrorist, Abdallah Aljamal, who had worked for the media organization and was killed in the raid.

His social media posts include a photograph of his young son wearing a Hamas headband and a graphic that is the symbol for Hamas’ internal security bureau.

In one instance, Aljamal posted a “blessing” on TikTok at 5:43 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, moments before the Hamas attack on Israel that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage, according to court filings.

“Praise be to God, good and blessed praise,” the post reads. “O God, guide us. O God, guide us. O [God] ALLAH, grant us the victory that you promised. O God, acceptance, acceptance, acceptance. Your victory, O [God] ALLAH.” The post is followed by a heart emoji.

While holding the hostages at his home, Aljamal “expressed his hatred for the State of Israel” and was in frequent contact with Nura Tape-Sallie, “an editor at the Palestine Chronicle who posts footage glorifying armed Hamas militants on her Twitter/X page,” the lawsuit says, citing conversations overhead by one of the hostages.

Following the Hamas attack, “Aljamal’s propaganda in the Palestine Chronicle increased exponentially, often publishing two to three pieces per day, even as the Hamas operative held plaintiffs hostage in violation of international law,” court filings say.

The lawsuit also claims Ramzy Baroud, the US-based editor of the Palestine Chronicle and a defendant in the case had to know Aljamal was working for Hamas and harboring the captives while also still writing for the news service.

The lawsuit claims the defendants “knew that Aljamal’s…propaganda could only be made with direct and substantial contacts with other Hamas terrorists providing him information to publish, power for his electronic devices, and Internet access for transmission of materials and communications.” https://nypost.com/2025/02/24/world-news/journalist-who-held-israeli-hostages-worked-for-hamas/

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