World
IDF claims 6 Al Jazeera journalists are members of terror groups, network responds to 'fabricated accusations'
JERUSALEM — Israel Defense Forces (IDF) allege that six reporters for the Al Jazeera news organization are members of two terrorist organizations, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The IDF said it uncovered the documents in Gaza.
On Thursday, the IDF released a dossier outlining the names, military ranks and identification numbers of the alleged terrorists. The Al Jazeera reporter Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif, according to the IDF, is part of Hamas’ Northern Brigade and has served as “true team commander” and “a soldier of the third rank.”
The IDF’s information contains financial information about the alleged terrorist and claimed Al-Sharif was a “fighter and cell leader in a rocket company,” and “a fighter” in Hamas’ special forces Nukhba company.
A statement released by Al Jazeera Media Network on Wednesday called the allegations “unfounded,” saying it “views these fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide.”
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Pictures of the alleged Hamas terrorists wearing protective vests labeled press for reporting in conflict zones were on display in the IDF dossier. Al Jazeera is headquartered in Qatar.
Following the Hamas massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, where some 1,200 Israelis and other foreign nationals were murdered, as well as the taking of 241 hostages by Hamas terrorists, Israel invaded Gaza to bring back the hostages and wipe out Hamas.
A man walks past shelter tents erected near collapsed buildings in the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 1, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
The Jerusalem bureau chief of the now-closed Al Jazeera office, Walid Omary, flatly denied the IDF allegations about the Al Jazeera reporters to Fox News Digital.
“These are baseless allegations from the Israeli forces. While Al Jazeera confirms that the below-mentioned journalists are employed by the network, we categorically reject these allegations and the portrayal of our journalists as terrorists. They are simply performing their professional duties, documenting, and reporting on the horrendous realities of the war and its impact on the 2 million civilians. The current accusations follow Al Jazeera’s exposé of potential war crimes committed by the Israeli forces during war on Gaza.”
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Al Jazeera bureau chief Walid Omari speaks during a press conference on the targeting of Palestinian journalists, in London on May 27, 2022. (Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Omary added, “Over the last two years, they have targeted and killed several Al Jazeera journalists in both the West Bank and Gaza. This includes Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist in 2022, as well as Samer Abu Daqqa, Hamza Al Dahdouh, and Ismail Al Ghoul over the past year, some of whom were accused based on unfounded allegations or fabricated evidence. Al Jazeera has brought these cases before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague seeking justice for its employees.
“Furthermore, the Israeli forces have targeted and killed over 100 journalists and media workers over the past year as documented by internationally renowned press freedom organizations. The Israeli forces continue to demonstrate open hostility toward Al Jazeera because of the network’s commitment to broadcasting the unfolding realities in Gaza and elsewhere.”
The other reporters listed in the IDF dossier include Ismail Farid Muhammad Abu Omar, who was alleged to be a Hamas operative in the Khan Yunis Brigade since 2021. He held the positions of “Team Commander”, “Platoon commander in the training unit” and “Exercise Commander,” said the IDF. He enlisted in Hamas in 2005, noted the IDF.
The Jerusalem office of Al Jazeera on July 29, 2017. (Mahmoud Ibrahem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Other Hamas members, according to the IDF, are Hossam Basel Abdul Karim Shabat, part of the Beit Hanoun Battalion and a “sniper operative in an anti-tank company,” and Talal Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Aruki, who is alleged to have enlisted in Hamas in 2008, according to the IDF.
Aruki released a statement on Instagram refuting the IDF allegations, saying he was studying at university when the IDF accused him of joining Hamas. He stated, “An incitement campaign against me and a group of Al Jazeera journalists by the Israeli army. This news is nothing but incitement allegations by the Israeli army.”
The IDF also alleged that two other journalists are part of Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Alaa Abdul Aziz Muhammad Salama, who they claim is a “deputy commander of combat propaganda,” and Ashraf Sami Ashour Saraj, an infantry soldier.
The United States government has classified both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as foreign terrorist organizations.
The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement on X stating, “The Committee to Protect Journalists is aware of accusations made by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against several journalists in Gaza accusing them of being members of militant groups. Israel has repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence.”
World
War, latest news. Trump: agreement with Iran to be signed soon. Tehran media: approval likely from top officials
Oxfam: ‘Over 540 settler attacks in the West Bank in the first few months of 2026’
A new analysis by Oxfam highlights the exponential rise in attacks by Israeli settlers and military forces in the occupied West Bank: in the first few months of 2026 alone, there were over 540 incidents and “in three years, the number of Palestinian civilians killed has exceeded that of the previous 17 years”, mainly children. According to the report, based on an analysis of data provided by the United Nations, “it is clear that Israel’s annexation plan is accelerating, with mass forced displacements, increased restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement and an unprecedented escalation of violence by settlers and the army”. A plan of ethnic cleansing and annexation that, since 2023, has caused over 46,000 people to be displaced, the construction of over 925 barriers that impede the movement of 3 million people, and an unprecedented wave of violence that has claimed over 1,200 lives, including nearly 270 children. In particular, between 2006 and 2022, Oxfam points out, there were 1,036 victims, including 225 children, whilst since 2023 alone, 1,244 have been recorded, with 268 children killed. This means that, over the last 20 years, one in five killings involved a child, around 22 per cent. By contrast, in the first 17 years under review, 86 Israeli settlers were killed by Palestinians, including 12 children, whilst there were 43 victims, including 10 children, between 2023 and 2025. “The massacre of civilians we are witnessing is painful and disturbing,” said Paolo Pezzati, spokesperson for humanitarian crises at Oxfam Italia – “Whilst the eyes of the world were rightly focused on the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza, following the atrocities committed by Hamas and other armed groups in 2023, an unprecedented wave of violence was unfolding across the West Bank, which has now escalated into a systematic plan of ethnic cleansing. In this context, we are therefore launching an urgent appeal for all necessary diplomatic pressure to be brought to bear on Israel to halt the ongoing annexation plan,” concludes Pezzati.
US: third Iranian oil tanker breaching the blockade neutralised
The US Central Command stated on X that it had intercepted an oil tanker, the third in a week, accused of violating the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command says it struck the M/T Jalveer, flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau, “as it attempted to transport oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman”. “A US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles at the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly refused to obey orders from US forces,” Centcom said.
Meloni: the Council should reflect on the direction of relations between the EU and Israel
“Not only because of what is happening in Lebanon, but also given the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, it is clear that the European Council will need to reflect on the direction of relations between the European Union and Israel.” This was stated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Chamber of Deputies, in her address ahead of the EU Council meeting. “On this,” she added, “I would like, for once, to see a debate here that goes beyond the emphasis on facile polemics, which certainly yields an immediate return in terms of visibility, but does not reflect the strategic importance that the issue holds for Italia.”
World
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sentenced to 30 years over North Korea drone flights
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A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison Friday in a case that accused him of ordering drone flights over North Korea in an effort to justify his declaration of martial law.
Yoon, 65, was sentenced alongside former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun by the Seoul Central District Court.
The ousted president was previously sentenced to life in prison for leading an insurrection following his declaration of martial law in December 2024.
North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets on three occasions in October 2024.
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South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 11, 2025. (Lee Jin-man/AP)
Then-Defense Minister Kim initially issued a vague denial before South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it could neither confirm nor deny the allegations.
Although tensions between the two Koreas escalated following the incident, the drone flights did not lead to any military clashes.
Prosecutors accused Yoon of attempting to create a crisis with North Korea while plotting an authoritarian power grab aimed at removing political opponents and consolidating control.
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Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally outside the Seoul High Court in Seoul on April 29, 2026. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)
Before declaring martial law, Yoon delivered a televised address accusing liberal lawmakers of sympathizing with North Korea.
Yoon has argued that he possessed the constitutional authority to declare martial law and said the move was intended to draw attention to what he viewed as obstruction by opposition parties.
His attempt to impose martial law lasted roughly six hours before lawmakers voted to overturn it amid mass public protests.
Yoon was arrested in July 2025 and continues to face multiple criminal proceedings.
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South Korea’s ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seoul to attend his trial on charges related to declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2025. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)
The insurrection verdict has been appealed by both Yoon and prosecutors, who had sought the death penalty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Tinubu takes victorious tone despite recent mass kidnappings by armed groups across the country.
Published On 12 Jun 2026
Nigeria’s military has “neutralised” more than 13,000 “terrorists” in the past year, the president says, as armed groups and criminal gangs continue to carry out mass attacks and kidnappings in the country.
In a televised national address on Friday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the death toll from Nigeria’s fight against armed rebels is down 81 percent since he took power in 2023.
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Tinubu added that “124,000 fighters and dependants have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor,” a programme aimed at rehabilitating repentant armed group members who voluntarily lay down their arms.
Tinubu’s speech was in commemoration of Nigeria’s Democracy Day, which marks the end of several years of military rule and the restoration of democracy in 1999.
However, despite the victorious tone of his speech, Africa’s second-biggest economy is in the throes of a spiralling insecurity crisis that has seen armed groups linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda, as well as criminal gangs, abduct citizens for ransom money.
Soft targets, including schools, churches and mosques, particularly in vulnerable rural communities with limited state security presence, have been particularly at risk.
While armed groups initially limited their operations to the country’s north, they have begun spreading through thick forest corridors to attack targets in the country’s southwest.
Officials say the groups are shifting base because of military pressure on their locations.
Following unfounded allegations of a “Christian genocide” in the country by US President Donald Trump late last year, the United States military has since begun supporting Nigeria in conducting precision strikes on armed group locations. In February, 100 American soldiers were deployed to Nigeria.
Scores of people have been abducted since January alone, including teachers and pupils as young as four years old. The latest incident in May saw 46 people kidnapped from a school in southwest Oyo state.
On Monday, the Nigerian military said it rescued 360 people kidnapped by ISIL-linked Boko Haram and held in a remote mountain hideout in northern Borno State.
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