Major News Outlets Deny Prior Knowledge of Hamas Attack on Israeli Civilians; Allegations of Embedded Photographers Surface, Threatened as Terrorists

Several major news organizations, including Reuters, The New York Times, CNN, and AP, denied having prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and soldiers. The denial comes after allegations that freelance photographers from these organizations were embedded with Hamas during the attack. The Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, seized on these allegations, threatening to treat the photographers as terrorists. The executive director of HonestReporting, the media advocacy group that raised the allegations, admitted to having no evidence and clarified that they were merely 'raising questions.' The New York Times strongly defended its freelancer, stating there was 'no evidence' to support the claim. CNN and AP terminated collaboration with a photographer who was accused of being embedded with Hamas during the attack. The situation has raised ethical questions about the presence of these photographers alongside Hamas terrorists.