Bombshell: Gaza-based CNN Journalist Worked With and Supported Hamas, Watchdog Report Finds
An explosive new watchdog report exposed a CNN freelancer who apparently supported and worked closely with a Hamas-operated entity.
July 2 2024, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
An explosive new watchdog report exposed a CNN freelancer who apparently supported and worked closely with a Hamas-operated entity, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Abdel Qadar Sabbah, a Gaza-based journalist who has had his work featured by CNN as well as the Associated Press, is now under scrutiny for taking photos with Hamas leaders and reportedly sharing terrorist propaganda.
The shocking claims were detailed in an article published on Tuesday by the pro-Israel site HonestReporting, which claimed that Sabbah was linked to a Hamas-operated entity and performed unspecified tasks for the organization.
The outlet obtained information from the reporter's social media accounts, mainly Facebook, "where his connections and bias have been hidden in plain sight," the article stated. On his Facebook profile, Sabbah described himself as a freelance journalist, director, and photographer, and also mentioned "military service" in 2013.
His questionable posts date back at least a decade to 2014, when the journalist reportedly praised Izz a-Din al-Masri, a Hamas suicide bomber. Al-Masri killed 16 people including children in Jerusalem in 2001, but Sabbah called him a "hero."
Abdel Qadar Sabbah, a Gaza-based journalist, has had his work featured by CNN as well as the Associated Press.
Sabbah was also accused of sharing a selfie in 2018 that he'd taken with Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar, who declared in 2022: "Israel is only the first target. The entire planet will be under our law."
“This morning, with commander Abu Khaled Al-Zahar, literature teacher…” Sabbah wrote in the caption of the photo showing the smiling men.
Sabbah has reported on the destruction and 'famine' in Gaza from Israeli attacks.
In another post, the journalist shared a photo of himself in the “General Training Directorate” uniform worn by officials under the Palestinian Authority’s police and Interior Ministry. But in Gaza, these groups fall under the de facto rule of Hamas.
Sabbah also bragged in another post about helping to promote the Directorate’s academy, which reportedly trains security teams for Hamas. A video he made was purportedly shared on the Hamas-run interior ministry's official page.
His apparent support for the terrorist organization continued as he posted a propaganda video by Hamas, titled "Ready," in April 2023, six months before the October 7 attack in Israel.
Sabbah reportedly shared a selfie in 2018 that he'd taken with Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar.
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The HonestReporting article also accused the freelancer of posting "anti-Israeli slurs," calling him "a Hamas mouthpiece, at best, or a serviceman affiliated with a proscribed terror group, at worst."
CNN has published the author's reports about "famine" and journalist deaths in Gaza, while AP has featured his photos of bombed-out hospitals and injured Palestinians. It was unclear whether the publications were aware of Sabbah's alleged links to the terrorist group.
