Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

Photojournalists working for Reuters and the AP in Gaza are usually very quick and efficient.

They reach the sites of Israeli air strikes or the morgues of local hospitals within minutes. Some of them don’t hesitate to cross borders and film atrocities, as they did on October 7, 2023.

Yet late in the afternoon on Tuesday, March 25, when hundreds of Gazans took to the streets in the first of the largest protest against Hamas since its attack on Israel, Reuters and AP crews were absent — more potential proof that these so-called “journalists” are beholden to or cooperating with the terror group.

Gazan photojournalists have been at the scene documenting every possible story in the service of Hamas’ propaganda campaign, including the obscene hostage release ceremonies.

But when Gazans protest against Hamas, wire services like @Reuters & @AP are reduced to relying on… pic.twitter.com/M3nZU3uA1T

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) March 26, 2025

The first story and video about the protest on the Reuters platform appeared only the next morning, based on social media posts. Several still images by an unidentified stringer went up past noon on Wednesday.

On the AP’s database, no visuals of the protest were published, and one text story based on “videos circulating online” appeared mid-morning on Wednesday.

As shown on social media, hundreds of defiant Gazans chanted “Hamas are terrorists,” in what seemed to be an organized and pre-planned demonstration.

Yet both agencies’ text stories were selective in the slogans they quoted from the protest: “Hamas out” and “We refuse to die” were mentioned, but not “Hamas are terrorists.”

And so news organizations that rely on Reuters and AP for Gaza coverage, and pay big bucks for it, had nothing solid to work with. Outlets like The New York Times, BBC News, CNN, The Guardian, and others had to use posts from X (formerly Twitter) as sources because the world’s largest news agencies suddenly went AWOL.

A Gazan who filmed the protest said on X that BBC and Al Jazeera refused to air his video because it showed Gazans “furious at Hamas terrorists using their hospitals as shields.” Presumably, someone at the wire services had similar thoughts that harmed the agencies’ timely and objective coverage.

Before posting this video, I waited 14 hours for BBC and Al Jazeera to air it. They refused. Why? Because it shows Gazans furious at Hamas terrorists using their hospitals as shields, chanting loud and clear: “Hamas are terrorists.” Yes, that supports Trump’s plan to crush the… pic.twitter.com/6CsjPVsf24

— Amjad Taha أمجد طه (@amjadt25) March 25, 2025

Meanwhile, what could be easily found on the Reuters and AP platforms were the same old graphic visuals of bodies, debris, rubble, or terrified children. Not to mention Hamas’ hostage release ceremonies or the heartbreaking stories in which displaced Gazans are interviewed blaming Israel.

For HonestReporting, this isn’t surprising. From October 7, 2023, onward, we have exposed the unethical ties between Hamas and news agencies’ journalists in Gaza. The terror group has showered them with honors and awards, and some have served the terror group’s media office as instructors or “work partners.”

But the problem is bigger than that: what did Reuters’ and AP’s top editors do on Tuesday, when news of the rare protest broke? It wasn’t in the middle of the night, and the protest lasted for a considerable time. Did they tell their Gaza crews to run and cover it? Or did they prefer to avoid conflict and accept whatever excuse they were given?

And the excuses are hard to argue with: Gazan journalists can claim that a scene is too dangerous to cover, too far, or too difficult logistically. No one argues with them, because they cultivate an image of courageous war reporters. Sadly, their “courage” seems to end when it doesn’t suit Hamas.

This is all just another reminder that Hamas controls the media in Gaza. Everything that comes out of the enclave, and especially what’s delivered quickly and efficiently (like the al-Ahli hospital false libel against Israel) — is tainted.

What’s not properly published, what’s omitted, and what’s delayed, is the truth.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.