Prominent Gazan photojournalist Motaz Azaiza said in a September 2026 podcast interview that he filmed Palestinians beating and abusing Israeli hostages on October 7, 2023, but withheld the footage because he feared Israel would identify and target Hamas members shown in the videos.
Speaking with journalist Ahmed Biqui on the podcast Taqarrab, Azaiza said he encountered a vehicle belonging to the Al-Qassam Brigades that was carrying Israeli captives and followed it while filming what happened.
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“I saw the vehicle of the Al-Qassam Brigades, and there were [Israeli captives] there,” Azaiza recalled. “People got out, watched, beat them, hit them, and I followed them and filmed. But I did not publish those videos. Why? Because I did not want to ruin the lives of the people who were filmed.”
Azaiza said he believed releasing the footage would allow Israeli authorities to determine the identities of those involved.
“I understood that Israel would use those videos to identify every person who was there and eliminate them,” he added. “I did not want to be responsible, even indirectly, for the deaths of those people in exchange for a few likes and views online.”
Azaiza, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee who was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, has become one of the most recognizable figures associated with the war and has amassed millions of followers on social media.
During the same interview, he also criticized Hamas’ leadership, arguing that its actions had failed to protect Gaza’s population.
His disclosure prompted criticism from media watchdogs and organizations including the Coalition for Jewish Values, which argued that withholding footage documenting abuse in order to protect those involved violated journalistic and moral standards.
The comments also renewed online scrutiny of public figures who have previously interacted with or expressed support for Azaiza. Past clips involving children’s YouTube personality Ms. Rachel were among those that resurfaced following the disclosure.
Photo: Motaz Azaiza by FeaturingDallas, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons