On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed against two prominent global news agencies, Reuters and The Associated Press, by five families representing their relatives who fell victim to a terrorist attack by Hamas during the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7.
The lawsuit alleges that both news agencies published reports and images from journalists who were embedded with the terrorists involved in the violence.
The families claim that several “journalists” not only entered Israel alongside Hamas on the day of the attack but also actively participated in the heinous acts. During the assault, Hamas perpetrated the deaths of over 1,200 Israeli citizens and held another 250 hostages. Israel has stated that around a quarter of the remaining 130 hostages are presumed deceased.
Reuters and The Associated Press are identified as two of the largest news agencies globally, known for their televised and written reports compiled by local teams, as outlined in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asserts that these news agencies are accountable for the direct and indirect consequences of the actions of their “journalists.” It states, “Any attempt to justify or excuse the actions based on journalistic principles, such as the public’s right to information, cannot condone a situation where a reporter from one of the agencies is present, participates, and documents the commission of a serious crime, such as the abduction of an elderly woman from her home.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit disputes any claim suggesting that the reporters were unaware of the planned attack, citing their reporting on the initial moments of the massacre.
“The ‘journalists’ present during the attack could have potentially aided the victims and alerted Israeli authorities beforehand to prevent the atrocities,” the lawsuit contends. “The news agencies, which contracted the services of these ‘journalists’ and bear direct responsibility for their actions, are held liable for the damages incurred by the plaintiffs.”
This legal action follows another lawsuit against The Associated Press filed in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of survivors, victims’ family members, and displaced individuals affected by the attack. The lawsuit alleges that the AP disregarded the affiliations of the photographers with terrorist organizations.
In response to the Florida lawsuit, The Associated Press has dismissed the claims as unfounded, asserting that they had no prior knowledge of the October 7 attacks and lacked evidence, including in the lawsuit, to suggest that the freelance journalists who contributed to their coverage were aware of the events in advance.
