Six Al Jazeera Journalists Exposed as Members of Hamas and PIJ

The IDF announced on Wednesday that it had identified six individuals who work for the Al Jazeera network who are also active members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The IDF said it had uncovered proof of this during operations in the Gaza Strip, naming the individuals as Anas Al-Sharif, Alaa Salama, Hossam Shabat, Ashraf Saraj, Ismail Abu Amr, and Talal Aruki. Al Jazeera flatly denied the accusations.

This follows an exposure of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Abu Amr as a member of Hamas several months ago, which Al Jazeera also denied, despite the documentary evidence the IDF presented to prove it.

The IDF said that is has extensive material evidence which "unequivocally proves that (the named individuals) function as military terrorist operatives of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip."

The IDF released more documentary evidence on Thursday showing that Al Jazeera is cooperating closely with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including the existance of a secure line of communication between the network and Hamas leaders.

The IDF said this evidence proves that Hamas and Al Jazeera coordinate their efforts to portray the terrorist organization in a good light and conceal its malign activities, particularly those who cause harm to Palestinian civilians.