Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, presented the UN Security Council with several images of journalists and UNRWA employees killed by Israel who were later revealed to have been terrorists, in a challenge to Israeli's critics.
"Terrorist or journalist?" Danon asked the council members. "UNRWA employee or Nukhba commander?"
Among the terrorists shown off by Danon were Ahmed Samir Muhammad Washah, Mohamed Naser Abu Huwaidi, and Mohammad Abu Itiwi.
"The United Nations continues to condemn Israel based on Hamas propaganda," Danon stated. "The accusations come first, the truth comes later, but no one ever apologizes. It is time to stop blaming the country fighting terrorism and start putting pressure where it belongs: on Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran."
Danon also condemned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for having previously referred to a terrorist killed by Israel as a journalist.
Committee to Protect Journalists removing names of terrorists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is conducting a full review of its database of journalists killed during the Israel-Hamas War after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published obituaries identifying as combatants individuals previously listed by CPJ as journalists.
CPJ has removed eight names from its “Killed” database because they were later established to have been members of Hamas or PIJ. A further 12 individuals were removed for other reasons. Each of these 20 names was listed on CPJ’s “Journalist casualties” page.
As of June 25, the total of individuals documented by CPJ as journalists or media workers killed by Israel in Gaza and in Israeli detention centers since October 7, 2023, stands at 209.
Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.