Hours after the release of hostage Edan Alexander, IDF forces carried out an overnight strike on Tuesday, targeting a terrorist compound in the Khan Younes area. The compound, located near the Nasser hospital in the Gaza Strip, served as a base for key members of the Hamas terrorist organization to plan and execute attacks against Israel.
The compound used to be managed by Ismail Barhoum, the deputy to the Hamas prime minister in the Gaza Strip and the head of the organization’s finance and institutions portfolio within its political bureau. Last March, Hamas confirmed the assassination of Barhoum.
The Qatari Al-Jazeera network reported on Tuesday that Hassan Aslih, an Arab photographer who infiltrated Israel on October 7 and documented the massacre from within its territory, was killed in the IDF attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younes.
In November 2023, CNN suspended Aslih, who was working for the network as a freelance photographer, following his involvement in the massacre.
HonestReporting reported that Aslih filmed a burning IDF tank and captured footage of terrorists infiltrating Kibbutz Kfar Azza. Aslih posted a video on Twitter where he can be seen in front of the tank, without any identification as a journalist, captioning it in Arabic: “Live broadcast from the settlements of the Gaza Strip.” HonestReporting also published a photo — the timing of which remains unclear — showing Aslih standing next to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is seen kissing him on the cheek.
هذا هو سبب الحقد على الشهيد الصحفي #حسن_إصليح pic.twitter.com/20hQk2z5P8
— خالد وليد المخير ? (@KhalidWleed_r) May 13, 2025
An investigation conducted after October 7 raised serious questions about the presence of journalists on the Gaza-Israel border during the brutal massacre, and whether their arrival had been coordinated with Hamas terrorists. Four individuals were involved, including Aslih, in providing the AP photos documenting the horrific events.
A report by HonestReporting, published in October 2024, uncovered that journalists working for prominent foreign media outlets in Gaza had participated in events organized by the Hamas government’s Ministry of Communications. This raised concerns about the extent of cooperation between journalists and Hamas during the violent attack.
