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Gaza journalist who met with Mamdani admits he buried footage of Israeli hostages being beaten to protect perpatrators

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Reyes, R. (2026, September 21). Gaza journalist who met with Mamdani admits he buried footage of Israeli hostages being beaten to protect perpatrators. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/21/world-news/gaza-journalist-who-met-with-mamdani-admits-he-buried-footage-of-israeli-hostages-being-beaten-to-protect-perpatrators/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-21 · by Ronny Reyes

Quick Summary

Motaz Azaiza, a Gaza journalist who has met with Mayor Mamdani and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, admitted on the Taqarrab podcast that he concealed footage of Israeli hostages being beaten by Palestinian mobs to protect those involved. Azaiza also revealed that journalists in Gaza are controlled through a Hamas-run WhatsApp group called “Smart,” which dictates what can be published and threatens punishment against critics. This admission comes amid reports of atrocities committed during the recent conflict, including hostage parading and corpse desecration, highlighting the suppression of free media coverage in Gaza under Hamas rule.
Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Motaz Azaiza, an acclaimed Palestinian journalist who has received honors like being named to the Time 100 list and GQ’s Middle East Man of the Year, admitted in a podcast interview that he suppressed footage showing Israeli hostages beaten by Palestinians during Hamas's control over Gaza on October 7, 2023. Azaiza explained that he chose not to publish the videos out of fear for the lives of those captured on film, believing Israel might target them. He also revealed that all media in Gaza is controlled through a single WhatsApp group run by Hamas, and journalists face severe repercussions if they defy the terror group’s directives. This admission highlights how reports from Gaza may have been influenced or censored to align with Hamas's narrative over nearly two decades.

Written for “Gaza Reporting Bias” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Gaza Reporting Bias
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
NBC News
Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different incidents: one about a Gaza documentary at Venice Film Festival and another about a journalist admitting to hiding footage of Israeli hostages.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 2 of 55 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of events related to Oct. 7, 2023, but do not describe the same specific incident.”
Fox News
Hedges 4 of 32 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Motaz Azaiza's actions and revelations; one focuses on his admission of withholding footage and Ms. Rachel calling him a friend, while the other highlights his broader claims about media control in Gaza.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 11 of 67 claims Outlet record 70/100
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 3 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes a journalist admitting to burying footage of Israeli hostages being beaten, while Article B discusses broader revelations about Hamas controlling media narratives over nearly two decades.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 6 of 72 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of media coverage and actions by journalists in Gaza; Article A is about general challenges faced by Palestinian journalists during a conflict, while Article B specifically mentions a journalist who hid footage to protect perpetrators.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 89 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different journalists and events, with no indication they are reporting on the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15921 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ronny Reyes
65 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Ronny Reyes
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 65 articles by Ronny Reyes →

Topics

Gaza Hamas Israel Palestinian WhatsApp

Subjects

Hamas ORG · 13× Gaza GPE · 12× Azaiza PERSON · 6× Israel GPE · 3× Aziza PERSON · 2× Palestinian NORP · 2× WhatsApp ORG · 2× the Gaza Strip GPE · 2× Mamdani PERSON · 1× Time100 ORG · 1×

Narrative

A Gaza journalist who has met with Mayor Mamdani and been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and a spot on the Time100 list admitted that he buried footage of Israeli hostages being beaten by a Palestinian mob in order to protect the perpetrators.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21
🔮 A Gaza journalist who has met with Mayor Mamdani and been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and a spot on the Time100 list admitted that he buried footage of Israeli hostages being beaten by a Palestinian mob in order to protect the perpetrators.

Claims (28 extracted, 0 hedged)

A Gaza journalist who has met with Mayor Mamdani and been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and a spot on the Time100 list admitted that he buried footage of Israeli hostages being beaten by a Palestinian mob in order to protect the perpetrators. asserted
he → meet → perpetrators
Photographer Motaz Azaiza also revealed that all media in Gaza is controlled by Hamas through a single WhatsApp group — and the terror group will target any journalist who publishes criticism. asserted
who → reveal → criticism
Azaiza — who has become one of the most famous journalists in Gaza — was in the territory on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas marched the hostages taken from Israel through the streets of Gaza, where all hell broke loose. asserted
hell → become → Gaza
“People got out, watched, beat them, hit them, and I followed them and filmed,” Azaiza told the Taqarrab podcast. asserted
Azaiza → get → podcast
“But I did not publish those videos.” asserted
I → publish → videos
Because I did not want to ruin the lives of the people who were filmed,” the photographer said. asserted
photographer → want → people
“I understood that Israel would use those videos to identify every person who was there and eliminate them.” asserted
who → understand → them
“I did not want to be responsible, even indirectly, for the deaths of those people in exchange for a few likes and views online,” he added. asserted
he → want → likes
Aziza also revealed that “every journalist in Gaza” is in a Hamas-run WhatsApp group called “Smart” that coordinates coverage in Gaza. asserted
that → reveal → Gaza
One of the Hamas media directors based at the Rafa Crossing ran it, he said. asserted
he → base → it
Aziza went on to say that he was targeted by pro-Hamas media — run through that channel — when he showed a video of a Gaza resident cursing Hamas. asserted
resident → go → Hamas
“Photographers in Gaza have become accustomed to lowering their cameras the moment someone says something bad about Hamas, he said, “because anyone who dares to show reality is persecuted relentlessly.” asserted
who → become → reality
He said he had to flee the territory after publishing people criticizing Hamas. asserted
he → say → Hamas
He now lives in Qatar. asserted
He → live → Qatar
Despite Azaiza withholding the footage of the hostages being beaten as part of his coverage of the war, some of the hostages who were paraded around the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 eventually spoke out about the ordeal. asserted
who → withhold → ordeal
Itay Regev, a survivor of the Nova Music Festival massacre, said Hamas had driven him and others around the streets of Gaza and displayed them like human “trophies” to the angry crowds. asserted
Hamas → say → crowds
Outrage also broke out when reports emerged on how the body of slain hostage Shani Louk was desecrated by Hamas, with crowds in Gaza cheering and spitting on her corpse. asserted
crowds → break → corpse
Along with his admission, Azaiza also criticized Hamas for plunging the Palestinian enclave into a war that has leveled huge portions of the territory — and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 73,000 people. asserted
that → criticize → people
He also slammed Hamas for cracking down on local journalists who depicted the horrors in Gaza, which forced many like Azaiza to flee the enclave in the early months of the war. asserted
which → slam → war
“You brought us back to the Middle Ages,” he said of Hamas. asserted
he → bring → Hamas
“You caused women in Gaza to urinate into a plastic bucket. asserted
women → cause → bucket
This does not bother you, but what bothers you is if someone suddenly criticizes you?” asserted
someone → bother → you
Azaiza was named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2024 for his nearly four month coverage of the war, where he highlighted civilian deaths and the destruction caused by the conflict between Israel and Hamas. asserted
he → name → Israel
He has also met with with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and even attended his election night watch party last November. asserted
He → meet → party
Despite the acclaim, he said he is haunted by what he saw in the Gaza Strip during the war. asserted
he → say → war
You love it, but at the same time you hate it. asserted
you → love → it
You love it, but it hurts you and destroys you,” he said. asserted
he → love → you
“The reality there forced things upon me that I never wanted — the price we pay to satisfy leaders who do not count us is simply unimaginable.” asserted
who → force → us
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