Palestinian journalist for non-profit Washington State outlet held 3 Israeli hostages in his home before IDF raid

A journalist in Gaza was holding three Israeli hostages in his family home when he was killed during the operation to rescue them on Saturday, according to the Israel Defense Forces military. Abdallah Aljamal was killed when soldiers raided his home in central Gaza to rescue Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andri Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41. According to the IDF, the hostages were held by Aljamal and his family. It was previously revealed that Hamas has been paying Palestinians to hold hostages in Gaza. 

The IDF said in a statement, “This is further proof that the Hamas terrorist organization uses the civilian population as a human shield.” Aljaman, who previously worked as a spokesman for the Hamas-run labor ministry, was a contributor to the Palestine Chronicle, covering Gaza during Israel’s offensive. Many of his articles focused on the ongoing IDF operation in Nuseirat which eventually led to the rescue of the hostages.

The Palestine Chronicle announced the death of Aljamal as one of those who were killed during the hostage rescue mission. They did not mention that he was holding hostages in his home.

The Palestine Chronicle is a 501C3 non-profit organization based in Washington State whose editor Ramzy Baroud previously worked for terrorist mouthpieces such as the Middle East Eye and The Brunei Times. He was also the former Deputy Managing Editor of Al Jazeera Online, an outlet that
Aljamal had previously written a column for in 2019.

When reached for comment, the Chronicle began altering its website to change Aljamal's bio from a "correspondent" to a freelance "contributor." Aljamal submitted articles up until the day he was killed in the IDF raid. Following the revelation, the outlet’s articles began getting community notes on X noting that Aljamal was holding the hostages. The outlet claimed in a statement "He was neither a staff writer nor a contractor" & "contributed his services" on a "voluntary basis." The outlet also denied that Aljamal held hostages.

The Chronicle did not respond when asked why it had altered its website. The outlet is a 501c3 under the People Media Project which was established in 2012 in Washington State, and yet there are no financial reports for the organization on the IRS website. The staff and management of the Chronicle are filled with those who, like Baroud,
are opposed to Israel's right to exist. 

During the operation, the IDF also rescued 26-year-old Noa Argamani from a home that was only 200 meters away from the Aljamal apartment. 

Israel estimated that there were “under 100” casualties during the raid, noting some of them were non-combatants, a result the terrorists hiding themselves and the hostages among civilians. Hamas claims the casualty numbers are higher but those numbers cannot be verified. Both Israel and the US blamed the casualties on terrorists hiding in civilian areas.