BOMBSHELL: Motaz Azaiza admits he filmed Israeli hostages being beaten in the streets of Gaza on October 7, and…

BOMBSHELL: Motaz Azaiza admits he filmed Israeli hostages being beaten in the streets of Gaza on October 7, and deliberately never published it, to protect the identities of the people beating them. He did post other October 7 footage that day, celebrating the attack. He quietly deleted it later. Azaiza is an influential "photojournalist" from Ghazza. TIME named him to the TIME 100. He was nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. CNN, the Guardian and Sky all interviewed him. Ms. Rachel Griffin-Accurso, who has 16 million subscribers, made a video for preschoolers introducing "my friend Motaz." She deleted it later. Two weeks ago, he did a 3 hour and 38 minute interview in Arabic. He made a number of EXTRAORDINARY admissions. 🧵

BOMBSHELL: Motaz Azaiza admits that he met with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, but asked people to hide all photographs of it.

Motaz Azaiza confirms on camera what was reported earlier this month: there is a Hamas-run group chat in Gaza. By his own account, every "journalist" in Gaza is in it. "Its manager was the media director of the Rafah crossing." You cannot treat any reporting out of Gaza as independent.

Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza admits that we all knew: Hamas knew exactly how harshly Israel would react to October 7 and did it anyway. How does he know? Because he remembers how they reacted to the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, a single soldier. "Anyone who tells you we didn't expect the reaction, tell him you're lying. All of Gaza expected the reaction." "Hamas itself knew the Israeli reaction. So it went in on Saturday, the Jews' Sabbath."

The host challenges Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza: why did none of you show the misery in Gaza before October 7? His answer: nobody was asking for it. "Even if you made it, nobody would engage with it. It wouldn't spread." Then: "Walk with what's walking. Work on what's moving. What has a market." He lists what sold before the war. And every Christmas, photographers taking a Santa Claus, putting him in the rubble, and shooting it. They brought Santa into Shati camp. "Just to grab attention."

BOMBSHELL: Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza admits how good things were in Gaza before Gazans invaded Israel on October 7. The host puts it to him: people were under siege, but for two or three years they'd started to see hope, started building projects, opening cafes. Is that feeling real? Azaiza: "Yes. The last two years, it wasn't really a siege. Something eased." "The country's standard improved. A lot of new projects opened. Travel got easier. Instead of paying 1,500 or 2,000 dollars for coordination, you'd pay 200." "Things eased a bit. The country moved a bit." Hamas and its supporters chose to throw it all away.

🚨 Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza admits: Hamas's weapons did not protect a single person in Gaza, and they could have handed over their weapons on October 11, 2023. "Why is it so easy for you that 200,000 [sic] of us die?"

🚨 Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza tells the story of a Gaza photographer who was shot in the leg covering the 2017 marches. He was treated in Turkey for six years and came to rely on Tramadol, a prescription painkiller. He came home through Rafah carrying it, with a doctor's note. Hamas jailed him three months. He got out two weeks before October 7. "If this had happened in the West Bank, my God, they'd have torn the PA apart." Nobody said a word. Because you're not allowed to criticize Hamas.

🚨 Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza asks the question nobody asks: Nizar Banat was beaten to death by Palestinian Authority forces in 2021. Five years on, everyone still says his name. "So how many were killed in Gaza by Hamas? And why don't we hear their names in the West Bank? Not even from Fatah. They were Fatah's own sons. Thrown off the rooftops. And nobody moved." The host answers by naming one: Uday al-Rabai, killed by Hamas over an opinion on Facebook. Azaiza adds another: Ziad Abu Hayya, shot in the head for saying "May Allah punish Hamas. Save us from Hamas."

🚨 Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza closes his three and a half hour interview by admitting—in Arabic—that Hamas lies about killing civilians. "When people accuse Hamas that massacres were committed on October 7th, what does he tell you? 'Those people who went in, that wasn't us.' But when there's something heroic: 'Oh, we're the ones who did it.'"

🚨 Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza admits who he was actually working for: "In 2022 I was trying to find a way to travel. But the job came to me with UNRWA in Gaza. And I worked for them as a Content Producer. Content maker and photographer." He was still in that job when the war started. A week before October 7 he was planning to travel and says he couldn't leave the work. CNN, the Guardian and Sky presented him as an independent witness. He was on UNRWA's payroll producing their content.

A lot more clips here, via @chalavyishmael

Yehuda Teitelbaum@chalavyishmael · Sep 17, 2026

Motaz Azaiza was lauded worldwide for his Gaza journalism, won awards, and was honored across multiple countries. But in a recent Arabic interview, he revealed details about his life, Hamas, and Oct 7th that he would never tell a Western audience. "I used to support Hamas" 🧵

More good clips of Motaz Azaiza from @kikas6652

Leslie Kajomovitz@kikas6652 · Sep 17, 2026

🧵 Two weeks ago, Motaz Azaiza gave an extremely revealing interview in Arabic, including details about what he did on October 7th. On October 7th, he woke up to the sound of rockets and initially didn't know what was happening. He started watching the videos and in his own words, the images gave him “goosebumps.” He also speaks about how despite the excitement, him and everyone else understood that what Hamas had done meant Gaza was finished. In summary, according to Motaz' own account, he didn't participate in the slaughter of humans and kidnapping of babies, not because he didn't want to, but because he got distracted and later was afraid to be seen in camera. He also kept evidence of those participating to "protect their lives" Why is Motaz allowed to live in America? @StateDept @SecRubio

🚨 Gaza "photojournalist" Motaz Azaiza interrupts the host to admit: "I do have friends in Hamas." He names one. He describes calling them when he ran into a problem while filming, and the problem going away. "But it wasn't an environment I liked mixing in." CNN, the Guardian and Sky presented him as an independent witness to the war.

Throwback: Motaz Azaiza somehow ended up in the United States and collabed with Ms. Rachel Griffin-Accurso. Griffin-Accurso deleted the video without explanation after Azaiza's record was exposed.

Another thread, breaking down an Arabic interview that Motaz Azaiza did in January 2025

Max 📟@MaxNordau · Sep 20, 2026

BOMBSHELL: Motaz Azaiza admits Gazans were hoping for war. "Let me tell you a secret. I don't know if you'll keep it in. A lot of people in Gaza were wishing the war would come." Why? "When a war or an escalation comes, the NGOs talk to you. There's a job opportunity." "People only know us through war." The most prominent "photojournalist" in Gaza admits that Gazans wanted a war because it would convince international organizations to give them money. Azaiza is the man TIME named to the TIME 100 and who was nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. CNN, the Guardian and Sky have all interviewed him. This is an Arabic interview from January 2025. There has been no English-language reporting on it, until now. 🧵