CNN has terminated its association with photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah, who was found to be embedded with the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza. The news network issued a statement on Thursday, clarifying that they began working with the freelancer only after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel. CNN asserted that they had no prior knowledge of these attacks. The statement further emphasized that Eslaiah, who has previously collaborated with various international and Israeli outlets, was not affiliated with CNN on Oct. 7. Consequently, CNN has completely severed all ties with him.
The decision to sever ties with Eslaiah came following a report from Honest Reporting, a pro-Israel watchdog group. The report identified several Gazan photojournalists working for major news media companies, including CNN, The New York Times, AP, and Reuters. It raised concerns about the ethical implications of their close proximity and relationship with Hamas. The Associated Press (AP) has also ended its association with Eslaiah.
Further details regarding this development are expected to emerge in due course.
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