The Qatar-based network stressed that the Israeli allegations are part of a motive to slander and spread misinformation aimed at harming Al Jazeera’s reputation. 

Al Jazeera has denied allegations of employing a Palestinian journalist accused by Israeli officials and media of involvement in holding Israeli captives, dismissing the claims as baseless.

“Al Jazeera Media Network confirms that Abdullah Aljamal has never worked with the Network, but had contributed to an Op-ed in 2019 and that these allegations are completely unfounded,” the Qatar-based outlet stated on Monday. 

“The Network also stresses that these allegations are a continuation of the process of slander and misinformation aimed at harming Al Jazeera’s reputation, professionalism, and independence,” the statement went on to say. 

It also called for accuracy before publishing any of these allegations, and said that the repetition of such claims “has become ridiculous”.

Baseless Israeli accusations 

The response follows claims by the Israeli army and foreign ministry that journalist Aljamal and his family members in the Nuseirat refugee camp were responsible for detaining the four Israeli captives recovered during a lethal operation on Saturday, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 300 Palestinians.

Without citing any evidence, the statement by the Israeli army also claimed Aljamal was a Hamas operative and a journalist for Al Jazeera.

“Journalist” Abdallah Aljamal was a Hamas terrorist holding Almog, Andrey and Shlomi hostage in his family’s home in Nuseirat,” the army wrote in a post on X. “No press vest can make him innocent of the crimes he has committed. @AlJazeera, what’s this terrorist doing on your website?” 

On the Al Jazeera website, Aljamal is credited as the author of an op-ed published in 2019. His biography page on the Al Jazeera website describes him as a “Gaza-based reporter and photojournalist”. 

The Palestine Chronicle, a US-based news and media company, confirmed that Aljamal was a writer for their website.

“The Palestine Chronicle is saddened to learn that Abdallah Aljamal, one of its contributors in the Gaza Strip, has been killed in the latest Israeli massacre in the Nuseirat refugee camp,” the outlet wrote on its website.

While Israeli media is linking Aljamal’s family to the Israeli captives, the website noted that reputable commentators and journalists online have rebutted those allegations, highlighting inconsistencies in the official Israeli account.

The reporting of Aljamal’s killing was first reported through EuroMed Monitor, a Geneva-based rights organisation whose chairman said its posts were later manipulated by Israeli officials. 

Ramy Abdu had published several social media updates regarding testimonies of US-Israeli special forces executing people in their homes after raiding several buildings in Nuseirat.

“The incident of the journalist’s killing was selected for Israeli incitement purposes,” he said.

“In an initial testimony documenting the killings committed by the Israeli army in the Nuseirat camp today, the @EuroMedHR reported that the Israeli army used a ladder to enter the home of Dr Ahmed Aljamal,” Abdu posted on X. 

“The army immediately executed 36-year-old Fatima Al-Jamal upon encountering her on the staircase. The forces then stormed the house and executed her husband, journalist Abdullah Al-Jamal, 36, and his father, Dr. Ahmed, 74, in front of his grandchildren.” 

“The army also shot their daughter, Zainab, 27, who sustained serious injuries,” Abdu added. 

Abdu also condemned as a lie the statements by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which claimed that the Israeli mission had rescued a hostage from the Aljamal family home. 

“The Israeli Foreign Ministry claimed today at noon that the hostage Argamani was in al-Jamal family home. The army released a tweet shortly after, stating that the three hostages were there,” Abdu said. 

“There is an obsessive effort to blame citizens who were executed inside a multi-story building housing several families.” 

According to Palestinian writer and analyst Muhammad Shehada, Aljamal lived in an apartment in one of the seven buildings that were raided by Israeli forces during their mission.

“Hostages were held in only 2 of these buildings, not yet clear which,” Shehada said.