UNESCO Accused of Mislabeling Terrorists as Journalists in Gaza by UN Watch Report

A new report by UN Watch accuses UNESCO, the UN agency for science, culture, and education, of mistakenly declaring seven individuals killed by the IDF in Gaza as journalists, when they were in fact operatives affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The report highlights repeated instances where UNESCO publicly condemned the deaths of these so-called journalists, only for terrorist groups themselves to later admit the individuals were members of their military wings.

UN Watch, which published the report in Geneva, calls on UNESCO to retract its erroneous classifications, conduct an independent investigation, and hold accountable those responsible for what it terms a "serious failure in the verification process." UN Watch CEO Hillel Neuer criticized UNESCO for publicly honoring terrorists as journalists, undermining the credibility of the UN and endangering genuine journalists reporting from conflict zones.

The report details seven cases, including individuals such as Mohammed Abu Armanah and Anas al-Sharif, who were initially identified by UNESCO as journalists but later confirmed by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or the IDF as terrorist operatives or commanders. UN Watch stresses that UNESCO’s own methodology requires multiple-source verification and updates when new evidence emerges, standards it claims were not met.

UN Watch demands that UNESCO publicly condemn Hamas and Islamic Jihad for embedding militants in media roles, empower an independent commission to review its verification procedures, identify and sanction officials responsible for the false statements, and publish the evidence and methodology used to classify journalist deaths in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The organization also urges the adoption of safeguards to distinguish between civilian journalists and terrorist members in future statements.

Neuer concluded, "Freedom of the press depends on truth. UNESCO’s mission is to protect journalism, not to whitewash terrorists. The agency must now correct its records, investigate these failures, and restore trust in its work."