The New York Times has vehemently denied allegations of its involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. The newspaper issued a separate publication, addressing the situation and refuting the claims made against its freelance photographer, Yusef Masood.
Nissan Chen, the head of the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO), sent letters to the heads of regional bureaus of Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and New York Times, demanding clarification regarding the presence of photographers from these media outlets near the locations where Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7th.
The New York Times stated, “The newspaper rejects any suggestions that it was forewarned about the attacks or accompanied Hamas terrorists. The allegations are outrageous lies.”
The newspaper’s management emphasized that while Masood was indeed in close proximity to the Gaza border on October 7th, he was not on any editorial assignment that day. Furthermore, the first photograph he published from the scene was taken 90 minutes after the start of the Hamas attack.
Prior to this, Israel had demanded explanations from CNN and Reuters regarding the actions of their photographers on October 7th.
Earlier, Reuters agency commented on the accusations that its journalists had prior knowledge of Hamas’ planned attack on Israel.
