This Sept. 27, 2026, Op-Ed by CAMERA’s Jennifer Kouzi appeared in JNS.
What happens when a high-profile, vehemently anti-Israel, self-described photojournalist from Gaza admits that Hamas controls the discourse and narratives out of Gaza? What happens when he confirms that journalists who write something other than what Hamas wanted could “disappear behind the sun?” Or that journalists usually “lower the camera” when Gazans exiting ambulances criticize Hamas?
Apparently, nothing. And that is the story.
The only explanation for why the mainstream media left such a significant story untouched is that it indicts those who would otherwise—in the name of good and responsible journalism—report on it.
In a Sept. 3 interview with Ahmad Biqawi, media personality Motaz Aizaza covered several topics. But it was his admission that Hamas controls the journalistic discourse out of Gaza that was so newsworthy. Azaiza revealed how Hamas runs a WhatsApp group chat, dubbed “SMART,” that includes every journalist in Gaza. The Rafah crossing media director serves as its administrator.
Historian and novelist Simon Sebag Montefiore aptly called the revelation a bombshell.
The media’s deafening silence on Azaiza’s explosive disclosure is particularly shocking given the photojournalist’s high profile in the Western press corps. Despite his short tenure as a Hamas-Israel war photojournalist, Azaiza dazzled the Western media and even gained an audience with American toddlers, appearing on a since-deleted video with children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel.
The New York Times, for its part, fell hook, line and sinker for Azaiza, featuring or citing him at least a dozen times, but oddly not since his bombshell revelations surfaced.
Read the rest of CAMERA’s Op-Ed at JNS.