Ramy Abdu, a Europe-based Hamas operative designated by Israel who heads the Euro-Med Human Rights monitor, may have unintentionally revealed that one of those related or in charge of keeping Israeli hostages on behalf of Hamas had worked for a US-based 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
In two tweets on his personal X account, Abdu named Abdallah Aljamal, a 36-year-old “journalist,” and his wife Fatima, as some of those killed by the IDF forces during their incursion into houses in Nuseirat where the hostages were held.
However, further research has shown that Aljamal worked for the Palestine Chronicle, a pro-Hamas outlet led by ex-Al-Jazeera official Ramzi Baroud, operating under the auspices of the People Media Project, a 501(c)3 organization registered since 2012 in Olympia, Washington State, whose IRS filings were not found online.
Likewise, Aljamal was found to have written an opinion piece for Qatari-based news outlet, Al Jazeera, as well as serving as spokesperson for Hamas’s Ministry of Labor.
It was initially unclear whether the hostages were being held at the Aljamals’ very home or in their vicinity, though Abdu’s tweet did mention an IDF incursion using a ladder into their window. When asked about the prospects of the Aljamal family hiding Israeli hostages in their home, Abdu claimed that “this should be addressed by Israeli officials,” claiming that at least seven other homes were documented as subject to the Israeli incursion.
IDF gives confirmation
On Sunday evening, the IDF gave the following statement:
לאחר בדיקות בצה״ל ובשב״כ ניתן לאשר כי עבדאללה ג׳מל היה פעיל של ארגון הטרור חמאס, שהחזיק בבית משפחתו בנוציראת את החטופים אלמוג מאיר, אנדרי קוזלוב ושלומי זיו>>
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 9, 2024
"Following the completion of IDF and ISA examinations of reports on the subject, it can be confirmed that Abdallah Aljamal was an operative in the Hamas terrorist organization, who held the hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv captive in his family home in Nuseirat.
The hostages were held captive by Abdallah Aljamal and members of his family in their home. This is further evidence of the deliberate use of civilian homes and buildings by the Hamas terrorist organization to hold Israeli hostages captive in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli security forces will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home."
This is not the first time in which alleged Gazan civilians were involved in keeping hostages in their homes on behalf of terrorist organizations, as other freed and released hostages have recounted their being held captive in civilian homes around the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday morning, Al Jazeera denied that Aljamal had been employed by the organization. It stated the rumors were untrue and baseless.