Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 24, 2017. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.

i24 News – The Jewish Chronicle terminated its association with contributor Elon Perry, whose reports made sensational claims about Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s supposed plan to smuggle Israeli hostages out of Gaza and make the way to Iran.

The story was called into question after an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said the military was unaware of the documents that Perry claimed corroborate his claims. Perry said that his source was a senior Israeli official, leading some to conclude it was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who fed the talking point to the reporter.

Moreover, the JC — the oldest Jewish newspaper in Britain — found inconsistencies in Perry’s biography, particularly that he served as a commando soldier during the legendary Entebbe raid (where Netanyahu’s brother lost his life in 1976) and that he was a professor at Tel Aviv University.

“While we understand he did serve in the Israel Defense Forces, we were not satisfied with some of his claims,” the outlet wrote on its website. “We have therefore removed his stories from our website and ended any association with Mr Perry.”