The National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) filed a lawsuit against the international news agency Associated Press (AP) on Thursday on behalf of survivors of Hamas’ October 7 attack and Nova music festival massacre alleging that the “AP materially supported terrorism through payments that they made to known agents of Hamas.” The news agency didn’t comment on the allegations, but has previously denied claims of prior knowledge about Hamas’ attack.
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According to the charges: “There is no doubt that AP’s photographers participated in the October 7 massacre, and that AP knew, or at the very least should have known, through simple due diligence, that the people they were paying were longstanding Hamas affiliates and full participants in the terrorist attack that they were also documenting.”
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Photos of Hamas terrorists abducting a body taken on October 7 used by AP
(Photo: AP Photo/Ali Mahmud)
The lawsuit names four freelance photographers whose work AP purchased and released including Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud, and Hatem Ali. Eslaiah, a freelance photographer who also works for CNN, crossed into Israel, took photos of a burning Israeli tank, and then photographed Palestinian infiltrators entering Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Screenshots from Eslaiah’s now-removed X account show him documenting himself standing in front of an Israeli tank. He did not wear a press vest or a helmet, and the Arabic caption of his tweet read: “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements." Masoud, who also works for The New York Times, was there as well. Ali Mahmud and Hatem Ali photographed the abduction of Israelis into Gaza, including octogenarian Yafa Adar.
In November 2023, a report by media watchdog HonestReporting revealed that photographers working for various news agencies including AP and Reuters documented Hamas’ attack and accompanied the terror organization’s operatives.
At the time, AP said in response: "The Associated Press had no knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened. The role of the AP is to gather information on breaking news events around the world, wherever they happen, even when those events are horrific and cause mass casualties. AP uses images taken by freelancers around the world, including in Gaza."