CNN Cuts Ties With Photographer Seen With Hamas Leader

Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar and Hassan Eslaiah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ripped mainstream Western media for working with photojournalists embedded with Hamas – calling them “accomplices in crimes against humanity” – as CNN formally severed ties with a freelancer who was photographed getting a kiss from the terror group’s leader.

The Ny Post reports Netanhayu’s office tweeted that it “views with utmost gravity that photojournalists working with international media joined in covering the brutal acts of murder perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.

“These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics,” the leader said — demanding “immediate action be taken” by the outlets helping to employ them.

The anger followed a bombshell investigation by media watchdog Honest Reporting into journalists who were there to document the surprise Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 people, with more than 240 others taken hostage.

Meet Hassan Eslaiah, a freelance journalist for @CNN, @Reuters, @AP in this video 👇he's on a motorbike, with a grenade in his hand, on his way to the Massacre of innocents in Israel.

#FreeGazaFromHamas seems to be about Hamas journalists too. pic.twitter.com/qUW4z0LRyG

— Yaari Cohen (@YaariCohen) November 9, 2023

Overnight, Israel Minister of Communications Dr. Shlomo Karhi issued a scathing letter to the outlets named in the investigation — Reuters, The Associated Press, CNN, and The New York Times.

The allegations published late Wednesday accused a handful of photojournalists of being too close to the terror group, suggesting it was why they were there for the Oct. 7 attack that took Israel by surprise. Many were seen without press identification at the time.

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, said that “journalists who knew about the massacre, who remained silent and took pictures” were “no different from the terrorists.”

CNN was the first to cut ties with one of those identified — even while standing by his work for them.

The freelancer, Hassan Eslaiah, was even once pictured smiling while getting a kiss on the cheek from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is now known as the “Butcher of Khan Younis.”