An investigation by the Jerusalem-based watchdog NGO Monitor alleges that a Gaza doctor widely promoted by pro-Palestinian advocacy groups and published in the New York Times is in fact a Hamas colonel.
According to the organization’s findings, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a neonatal specialist and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, appeared in a 2016 photograph at a ceremony attended by senior Hamas figures marking the hospital’s completion.
The image was posted on the Gaza Medical Services Facebook page, which is run by the Hamas Health Ministry. Those present at the event included Gen. Abu Obaida Al-Jarrah, Military Medical Services Director Saeed Saoudi, and National Security Forces commander Col. Naeem Al-Ghoul.
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NGO Monitor senior researcher Vincent Chebat told The New York Post, “Those who platformed Abu Safyia must do some serious soul-searching, and figure out how they ended up promoting the propaganda of a literal Hamas terrorist.”
Abu Safiya authored opinion pieces in the New York Times in which he described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide,” and he became a focal point of international advocacy campaigns after being detained by the Israel Defense Forces in 2024 over alleged terror affiliations.
Amnesty International called for his release, while the city of Lyon, France, granted him honorary citizenship, stating, “Safiya is one of the leading figures in Gaza’s health system and embodies the courage of healthcare workers in the face of the unspeakable.”
Israeli officials have repeatedly argued that Hamas embedded elements of its terror infrastructure within Gaza hospitals, including beneath Al-Shifa, citing the discovery of tunnels, weapons and command spaces. The IDF has also referenced internal Hamas documents from 2020 indicating the group viewed hospitals as strategic assets.
Separate media watchdog group Honest Reporting has highlighted cases in which freelancers used by major outlets had documented associations with terror organizations. One cited example is Gaza journalist Hassan Aslih, whose work appeared in CNN and AP and who was photographed receiving a kiss on the cheek from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre.