Secrets of Hamas propaganda: A journalist from Gaza reveals the truth

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza has revealed the mechanisms of Hamas propaganda in the Gaza Strip, including harsh censorship, repression against journalists, and the concealment of information about the attack of October 7, 2023.

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, who left the Gaza Strip after four months of war, has revealed the mechanisms of Hamas propaganda. According to him, since seizing power in 2007, the group established a harsh dictatorship in the media. Reporters were forced to work under threat of reprisal. In 2013, at a Hamas Interior Ministry seminar, militant representative Abu Ubaida explained that the press is equated with armed formations. Dissenters were suppressed: in 2016, Mohammed Otman was arrested for an article about medical errors, and in 2019, 12 journalists were arrested for covering protests. Azaiza admitted that on October 7, 2023, he filmed a video of a crowd beating Israeli hostages but refused to publish the footage, fearing identification of the attackers. He also accused Hamas leaders of plunging the region into catastrophe and causing the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. The revelations were published by The New York Post and The Jerusalem Post.