A Palestinian man points a weapon in the air after it was announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, in the central Gaza Strip, October 9. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

In Gaza, every public institution falls under the direct supervision of Hamas-affiliated terrorists. From journalists to the health ministry and civil defense, Hamas has embedded itself in every aspect of life.

In yet another textbook example of terrorists embedded in Gaza’s institutions, the IDF revealed in June 2025 that the “Gaza Civil Spokesperson,” Mahmoud Bassal, is an active Hamas operative.

His words are frequently echoed throughout the media, shaping and distorting the narrative of Israel’s war against Hamas — often without attribution to his Hamas affiliation.

ABC News took that one step further, interviewing Bassal as an emergency responder searching for missing Gazan civilians.

Not once did it cross the interviewers’ minds to do the most basic due diligence a journalist can — a background check on those being interviewed.

ABC News has a responsibility to acknowledge the affiliation of an interviewee, particularly if it is relevant to the story they are covering.

This would have been the case had ABC noted that those searching in the rubble were members of Gaza’s Civil Defense: a Hamas front organization. But ABC didn’t even do that.

The Gaza Civil Defense is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of the Interior, meaning it is also responsible for public reports of casualty numbers following an Israeli airstrike that targets terrorists. Every report and statistic it publishes is filtered through the lens of Hamas’ agenda, carefully crafting the narrative that it wants the international community to believe.

Yet, Bassal isn’t just working for the Hamas-affiliated Civil Defense as an innocent, unknowing Gazan. He is also an active member of the Zeitoun Battalion of the Izz-ad Din-al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, directly involved in planning and executing terrorist attacks.

His dual role as both a “civilian” spokesperson and a terrorist in a military battalion underscores how Hamas blurs the line between civilian and military functions, using everyday institutions to further its terror objectives.

Thus, any interview with him is inherently dangerous as it risks further amplifying Hamas propaganda — a risk that becomes even greater when both his Hamas-affiliated “civilian” organization and his own active role in a military battalion are omitted from the story.

Journalists covering Gaza have a responsibility to distinguish between genuine civilian witnesses and representatives of a terrorist organization. Without the proper acknowledgment, Western media risks becoming a conduit for terrorist messaging rather than an accurate reflection of reality.

ABC News owes its audience an explanation and a public clarification.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.